The Socceroos will have to make do without their captain, Mile Jedinak, for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Syria after the influential midfielder was omitted from the final 23-man squad.
Jedinak, who has been struggling to get over a long-standing groin complaint, was left out of the Aston Villa team which beat Burton Albion on Wednesday morning (AEST) before Ange Postecoglou confirmed he would play no part in the crucial two-legged tie next month.
Jedinak, who not featured for the Socceroos since their World Cup qualifying win over Saudi Arabia in June, had been included in Postecoglou’s initial 30-man squad for the Syria playoff, but any hopes he could prove his fitness in time evaporated.
Postecoglou named five fresh faces in his final selection for the games to be played in Malaysia and Sydney on 5 and 10 October respectively. Aziz Behich, Craig Goodwin, Nikita Rukavytsya, Josh Risdon and Matthew Jurman made the final cut for the pair of fixtures that will determine whether Australia’s hopes of reaching a fourth straight World Cup remain intact.
Should the Socceroos beat Syria, they will then face a second playoff, against a team from the Conmebol region for a place at next year’s tournament in Russia. “I am confident that we have a group of players capable of achieving our goal of progressing to the next stage of qualification,” Postecoglou said.
Jamie Maclaren, Alex Gersbach and Ryan McGowan joined Jedinak in being notable exclusions from the group, but defender Trent Sainsbury made the list despite lacking game time for his Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning.
The squad will begin to assemble in Malacca on Sunday ahead of Syria’s “home” leg, with Hang Jebat Stadium again chosen as a neutral venue given the security concerns in their war-torn home country.
SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS posted by CAMPUS94
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