Robbie Kruse is the headline addition to Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou’s squad to take on Belgium and Saudi Arabia next month, also naming more untested talent in an already youthful side.
Gearing up for January’s Asian Cup, the Socceroos will head to Europe next month for international friendlies against fifth-ranked FIFA side and World Cup quarter-finalist Belgium in Liege on September 4 before facing the lowly Saudi Arabia in London four days later.
Newcomers Chris Herd, Trent Sainsbury, Brad Smith and Bailey Wright made Postecoglou’s 20-man squad, joined by the return of Kruse, Carl Valeri and Josh Brilliante.
Kruse returns from a devastating ACL injury which prevented the 25-year-old from joining the Socceroos on-field in Brazil while former A-League jet Brilliante is back in the team after impressing with new club Fiorentina in Italy’s Serie A.
Veterans Tim Cahill and Mile Jedinak have bucked the Postecoglou trend of axing old heads, both kicking on after strong World Cup appearances.
“The next series of games for us are really important to broaden the base and depth, so we’re going to be pretty bold in the way we select our squads and give some people an opportunity,” Postecoglou said.
“After the World Cup campaign we had a break and I had a bit of a chance to think about everything that transpired over the last six to eight months, culminating in the World Cup.
“One thing that came out, that was evident to me, is that we need to broaden our base and get some depth in various positions in our squad.
SOCCEROOS SQUAD
Mat Ryan (Club Brugge, Belgium), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Jason Davidson (West Bromwich Albion, England), Chris Herd (Aston Villa, England), Trent Sainsbury (PEC Zwolle, Holland), Brad Smith (Swindon Town, England League 1), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai, Korea Republic), Bailey Wright (Preston North End, England League 1), Josh Brilliante (Fiorentina, Italy), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace, England), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town, England League 1), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Tommy Oar (FC Utrecht, Holland), Carl Valeri (Melbourne Victory), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Tomi Juric (Western Sydney), Matthew Leckie (FC Ingolstadt, Germany)
Photo: Mark Nolan/Getty Images
