Melbourne Victory stars Mark Milligan, Tom Rogic and James Troisi have all been named in Ange Postecoglou’s 30-man preliminary squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Melbourne Victory stars Mark Milligan, Tom Rogic and James Troisi have all been named in Ange Postecoglou-s 30-man preliminary squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Milligan continued his impressive form throughout 2013/14, with the skipper proving once again he was one of the best midfielders in the league. He’ll be looking to add to his 27 national appearances in Brazil.
Troisi won the club’s Golden Boot this season, having scored 12 goals in the Hyundai A-League and a further three throughout the club’s AFC Champions League campaign. He also played in every A-League match, a feat only matched by teammate Brazilian Gui Finkler.
Rogic was hampered by a groin injury at the tail end of the season, denying him the opportunity to further impress in Victory colours after moving to the club on loan from Celtic in the January transfer window.
Melbourne Victory Coach Kevin Muscat congratulated the trio on their selection.
“All three of the boys have put in a lot of hard work throughout the season and this is just reward for their impressive performances on pitch and hard work on the training ground,” Muscat said.
“It’s a real honour for this club to have three representatives in the squad that will take it right up to the world’s best in Brazil and we wish the Socceroos the very best of luck on football-s biggest stage.”
Socceroos Coach Ange Postecoglou said he had rewarded those who had shown great form in the A-League.
We-re excited to announce the preliminary 30-man Socceroos squad for the World Cup,” Postecoglou said.
“We-ve selected a squad we believe will represent the people of Australia with pride on the biggest stage in world sport.
“The squad has been selected with form and fitness as key indicators as well as having one eye on the future. We face a formidable challenge in Brazil but it is also a big opportunity and we head to the World Cup with no barriers as we look to write a new chapter in our rich football history.”
Full squad:
GOALKEEPERS
Mark BIRIGHITTI (Newcastle Jets FC, AUSTRALIA)
Eugene GALEKOVIC (Adelaide United FC, AUSTRALIA)
Mitchell LANGERAK (B.V. Borussia 09 Dortmund, GERMANY)
Mat RYAN (Club Brugge KV, BELGIUM)
DEFENDERS
Jason DAVIDSON (SC Heracles Almelo, NETHERLANDS)
Ivan FRANJIC (Brisbane Roar FC, AUSTRALIA)
Curtis GOOD (Newcastle United, ENGLAND)
Ryan McGOWAN (Shandong Luneng Taishan FC, CHINA)
Matthew SPIRANOVIC (Western Sydney Wanderers FC, AUSTRALIA)
Alex WILKINSON (Jeonbuk Hyundai FC, KOREA REPUBLIC)
Luke WILKSHIRE (FK Dinamo Moscow, RUSSIA)
Bailey WRIGHT (Preston North End FC, ENGLAND)
MIDFIELDERS
Oliver BOZANIC (FC Luzern, SWITZERLAND)
Mark BRESCIANO (Al Gharafa, QATAR)
Joshua BRILLANTE (Newcastle Jets FC, AUSTRALIA)
James HOLLAND (FK Austria Vienna, AUSTRIA)
Mile JEDINAK (Crystal Palace FC, ENGLAND)
Massimo LUONGO (Swindon Town FC, ENGLAND)
Matthew McKAY (Brisbane ROAR FC, AUSTRALIA)
Mark MILLIGAN (Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA)
Tommy OAR (FC Utrecht, NETHERLANDS)
Tommy ROGIC (Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA)
Adam SAROTA (FC Utrecht, NETHERLANDS)
James TROISI (Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA)
Dario VIDOSIC (FC Sion, SWITZERLAND)
FORWARDS
Tim CAHILL (New York Red Bulls, USA)
Ben HALLORAN (Fortuna Dusseldorf, GERMANY)
Josh KENNEDY (Nagoya Grampus 8, JAPAN)
Matthew LECKIE (FSV Frankfurt 1899, GERMANY)
Adam TAGGART (Newcastle Jets FC, AUSTRALIA)
