Coach Pim Verbeek finally confirmed his 23-man Australia squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, a full 10 hours after submitting his selections to FIFA by the 1 June deadline.
Verbeek delayed revealing his final playing roster until he had a chance to inform all his players of his decisions personally, after a final fitness check following the 1-0 warm-up match win over Denmark.
Defenders Rhys Williams, pelvis problem, and 20-year-old Shane Lowry were two of five players culled at the final hurdle.
As expected, goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic missed out, following his inclusion in the 28-man provisional squad only as a shadow player, while the omissions of young guns Tommy Oar and James Holland are no surprise after Verbeek admitted their selections in the travelling squad were a move for the future.
Australia's 23-man World Cup squad is:
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Goalkeepers: Adam Federici, Brad Jones, Mark Schwarzer
Defenders: Michael Beauchamp, David Carney, Scott Chipperfield, Mark Milligan, Craig Moore, Lucas Neill, Luke Wilkshire
Midfielders: Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Jason Culina, Brett Emerton, Richard Garcia, Vincenzo Grella, Brett Holman, Mile Jedinak, Carl Valeri, Dario Vidosic
Forwards: Joshua Kennedy, Harry Kewell, Nikita Rukavytsya
Williams, 21, was robbed of a spot after failing to overcome an osteitis pubis issue that was not managed properly by his English club Middlesbrough.
At a press conference to announce his squad, Verbeek, a big fan of Williams, explained that the 21-year-old would have been selected if fit and pointed the finger at Boro manager Gordon Strachan for allowing the defender to play injured, with the aid of injections.
Williams admitted to be "gutted' by his fate and revealed that "under the circumstances" he would not stay with the Socceroos in camp and instead return home to be with his family and concentrate on his injury rehabilitation.
Verbeek declared that Williams' absence would not affect the balance of his squad, even though a midfielder - either Richard Garcia or Dario Vidosic - was expected to be sacrificed instead of the up-and-coming defender.
Australia's finalises its pre-World Cup match schedule on Saturday against USA in Roodepoort before it kicks-off its Group D campaign against Germany in Durban.
