Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Holger Osieck has selected a provisional squad of 25 players for the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) East Asian Cup 2013 qualifying tournament which will be held from 1-9 December 2012 in Hong Kong.<./b>
Due to the tournament being played outside official FIFA match dates, Osieck has selected players who are currently playing in the Hyundai A-League, have completed their domestic seasons or who are about to go on their mid-season break.
Aziz Behich, Eli Babalj and Tom Rogic return to the Qantas Socceroos squad after making their debuts against the Korea Republic last week as well as Robbie Cornthwaite who scored his first senior international goal and Michael Thwaite.
Terry Antonis and Adam Taggart receive their his first call-up to a Qantas Socceroos squad after recently helping the Qantas Young Socceroos qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup at the AFC U-19 Championship in the UAE.
Other players to receive their first selection in a Qantas Socceroos squad include Ivan Franjic, Rostyn Griffiths, Ben Halloran, Aaron Mooy and Osama Malik along with Dino Djulbic and Matt Smith who all recently received their relevant international clearances to represent Australia.
Returning to the Qantas Socceroos squad after varying periods of absence are Brett Emerton, Eugene Galekovic, Richard Garcia, Scott Jamieson, Michael Marrone and Dario Vidosic
The Qantas Socceroos will assemble in Sydney for a pre-tournament camp from 26-29 November and will depart for Hong Kong on 30 November. Osieck will name his final squad that will travel to the tournament on Thursday 29 November.
The EAFF East Asian Cup is a four-team tournament for Men & Women which is held every four years rotating between Japan, Korea Republic & China PR as the host nation.
The teams that will participate in the EAFF East Asia Cup for men are Japan, Korea Republic & China PR with a fourth team determined by a qualification process. The qualifiers for the men’s edition of the EAFF East Asia Cup 2013 will be played in Hong Kong from 1-9 December 2012 and will involve teams from Australia, Chinese-Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong & DPR Korea.
The Men’s & Women’s EAFF East Asia Cup 2013 will be held concurrently in Seoul, Korea Republic from 20-28 July 2013.
Qantas Socceroos Provisional Squad for EAFF East Asian Cup Qualifiers
Terry ANTONIS Sydney FC
Eli BABALJ FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd
Aziz BEHICH Melbourne Heart FC
Robert CORNTHWAITE Chunnam Dragons
Dino DJULBIC Guizhou Renhe
Ivan FRANJIC Brisbane Roar FC
Brett EMERTON Sydney FC
Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) Adelaide United
Richard GARCIA Melbourne Heart
Rostyn GRIFFITHS
Ben HALLORAN Brisbane Roar
Scott JAMIESON Perth Glory
Osama MALIK Adelaide United
Michael MARRONE Melbourne Heart
Matt McKAY Busan I Park
Mark MILLIGAN Melbourne Victory
Aaron MOOY Western Sydney Wanderers
Tom ROGIC Central Coast Mariners
Mat RYAN (gk) Central Coast Mariners
Matt SMITH Brisbane Roar
Adam TAGGART Newcastle Jets
Archie THOMPSON Melbourne Victory
Michael THWAITE Perth Glory
Dario Vidosic Adelaide United
Luke WILKSHIRE FK Dinamo Moscow