Melbourne City FC midfielder Aaron Mooy has been rewarded for his stellar form in the Hyundai A-League, selected in Ange Postecoglou’s 23-man squad to face World Champions Germany and FYR Macedonia in Europe later this month.
Postecoglou has rewarded the heroes who won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, with 18 members of the squad named alongside five players who have been given an opportunity to impress the Socceroos coaching staff.
Luke DeVere, Chris Ikonomidis, Tarek Elrich and Adam Federici come into the squad but for Melbourne City fans, the inclusion of Aaron Mooy would be a just reward for the midfielder’s domestic form, unlucky to miss out on January’s Asian Cup Squad.
“This squad rewards the players who did a marvellous job in claiming the Asian Cup,” Postecoglou said. “Winning the Asian Cup was a great reward for the hard work the players put in but we have been pretty consistent in our approach that the Asian Cup win is the start of a journey, not the end.
“The games in Europe offer an opportunity for the likes of DeVere, Elrich, Mooy, Federici and young Chris Ikonomidis. We continue to have one eye on the four-year World Cup cycle and these players have an opportunity to show us how they’ll handle the step up to international level.”
The matches against Germany and FYR Macedonia are the final two friendly games before the Socceroos commence the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in June.
“We need to continue our development as we move forward from the Asian Cup victory and look towards the 2018 World Cup,” Postecoglou said. “These two matches will offer us another test and will be a good indication of what is required to take the next step.”
Socceroo Match Details
Germany v Australia
Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern
Wednesday 25 March 2015
Kick-Off: 8:30pm (CET) (6:30am (AEDT), Thursday 26 March)
FYR Macedonia v Australia
National Arena Philip II of Macedonia Stadium, Skopje, FYR Macedonia
Monday 30 March 2015
Kick-Off: 9.00pm (CEST) (6:00am (AEDT), Tuesday 31 March
