The Socceroos - How good are they really?

Football is not as popular in Australia as its promoters like us to believe. But this could change if the Socceroos put in a convincing performance at the upcoming World Cup. So what do we know about the key players?

Socceroos celebrate qualifying for the World Cup Source: AAP

Early this week, Socceroos Head Coach Bert van Marwijk named the 32 players of his preliminary squad for football's greatest show, the World Cup in Russia. The list will be narrowed down to 26 players next week and 23 players on 3 June.

Der niederländische Coach der Socceroos, Bert van Marwijk Source: Getty Images

To find out how good the Socceroos really are, SBS host Christian Froelicher asked Melbourne-based German football expert Bernd Merkel to take us through the squad, starting with 19-year-old Wunderkind and A-League Young Footballer of the Year player Daniel Arzani.

Australisch-Iranischer Doppelbürger: Daniel Arzani von Melbourne City soll frischen Wind in den australischen Sturm bringen Source: Getty Images