Socceroos head coach Ange Postecoglou has announced his final 23 man squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Josh Kennedy, Tom Rogic, Mark Birighitti and Luke Wilkshire were the last four unlucky players to miss out.
The Australian coach had no option but to leave out injured striker Josh Kennedy and playmaker Tom Rogic.
(Click on audio tab to listen to this item)
It's a big blow for the Socceroos who have already lost key players Robbie Kruse and Curtis Good.
Ange Postecoglou says both Rogic and Kennedy were given as much time as possible to recover before the start of the tournament.
"Tommy, we wanted to give him every chance. He was obviously struggling a bit even coming into camp. So he was pretty devastated last night, but as I said to him, he walks away without having to put the white flag. And Josh, it's just a timing thing. Again he was due to play yesterday and we were quite happy with the way he was going but he pulled up sore with his back, it's just too much uncertainty there."
Goalkeeper Mark Birighitti was left out in favour of Mat Ryan, Mitch Langerak and Eugene Galekovic.
However, by far the most surprising of the four exclusions is Luke Wilkshire, whose elimination is likely to spell the end of his international career.
With 80 caps, Wilkshire was the most experienced player in the squad and, aside from Matthew Spiranovic, the only defender with more than 10 international appearances.
With Ivan Franjic still recovering from a knock to his knee, Wilkshire was the only other specialist right-back.
And former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer says he is stunned by his omission.
"Luke Wilkshire was a big surprise. I think Luke has been one of the mainstays of the side for a very long time now. Not that means that there are any guarantees of being selected, but I still think he is one of our best right sided players going around and his experience, again is going to be sorely missed."
Meanwhile, Postecoglou admits he had taken a gamble on veteran Mark Bresciano's back complaint.
With Rogic gone, Postecoglou is counting on the 34 year old midfielder to provide the creative flare.
However, he has been restricted to light duties since arriving in Brazil and is only expected to begin training with the team in the next few days.
But Postecoglou is still uncertain how much game time Bresciano will get.
"Will he play 90 minutes in all three games? Unlikely. As we sit here right now, I would expect him to be available for the first game against Chile, will he be able to play 90 minutes unlikely."
With an average age of just over 25, the Socceroos squad is among the five youngest at the 32-team tournament.
Other than Algeria, it's the least experienced with an average of 17 caps per player.
And Postecoglou admits he is not entirely sure if every one of his players are up to World Cup standards.
"Not having a crystal bowl mate, no. Because for most of them it's their first World Cup. And It's like anything in life, until you get that opportunity you just don't know, but the message this morning was that you have to make sure that the ones that they do have the opportunity make the most of it."
Some of the newcomers include two 21-year olds, Massimo Luongo and Adam Taggart.
Midfielder, Luongo admitted he is surprised to have made the final squad.
But he couldn't hide his delight.
"Obviously I was over the moon, I'm just happy to be here and to take this opportunity as much as I can. Just happy to be involved and grateful as well."
Taggart was also expected to be left out of before Kennedy's omission opened the door for the Newcastle Jets striker.
The A-League golden boot winner says he is ready to step up if needed.
"It's obviously, extremely said for Josh to miss out due to an injury. For myself the opportunity comes, you need to be ready to take it from the start it's been the focus point to work hard in training every single day, knowing that if there an opportunity you are ready."
The Socceroos will play Croatia in their final pre-World Cup friendly on Saturday, before their opening group Match against Chile on June 14.
Share
