Osieck names Qantas Socceroos squad to take on Romania

Jason Davidson, Rhys Williams, Michael Zullo and Adam Federici have all been selected to return to the national fold for the International Friendly with Romania.

Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Holger Osieck has named a 19-player squad for the upcoming international friendly match against Romania which will now be played at the Estadio Ciudad de Malaga, Malaga, Spain on Wednesday 6 February 2013 (kick-off 9:00pm local, 7:00am AEDT).

Rhys Williams returns to the Qantas Socceroos squad after successfully recovering from a serious ankle injury that he sustained in August last year.

Also returning to the Qantas Socceroos squad after varying periods of absence are Jason Davidson, Adam Federici and Michael Zullo.

Osieck is looking forward to using this match to assess the level of his players ahead of the all important 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier against Oman on Tuesday 26 March in Sydney.

“I had a good look at the Australian-based and Asian-based players in Korea (Republic) and Hong Kong (EAFF East Asian Cup Qualifiers) so this is a good opportunity for me to check the performance of the European-based players that I haven-t seen since last October,” said Osieck

“Over the past week or so, I have also been scouting a number of players throughout Europe, so I have a good idea on where they are currently at, but being in camp will give me a much better idea.

“One player who was definitely in contention for selection was Adam Sarota, but unfortunately a recent serious knee injury has ruled him out. We wish Adam a safe and speedy recovery and hope to see him on the field soon enough.

“In terms of Romania, it-s no secret that they are a quality team, well placed in their qualification group and they play good football.

“It-s always good to test ourselves against tough opposition and Romania will be a good yard-stick for us in the lead up to our game against Oman in March, “concluded Osieck

This will be the first meeting between the Qantas Socceroos and Romania at senior men-s international level.

The Qantas Socceroos are currently ranked 36th in the FIFA World Rankings whilst Romania are 33rd (as of 19 December 2012).

The Qantas Socceroos are in second position of Group B of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers with a win against Iraq (2-1), draws against Oman (0-0) and Japan (1-1) and a loss to Jordan (1-2) at the half way point of the final round. Romania are in third position of Group D in their 2014 FIFA World Cup European qualifiers after 4 matches.

This match will be broadcast Live and Exclusive by FOX SPORTS in Australia from 6:30am AEDT on Fox Sports 1HD and Fox Sports 1.

NAME CLUB, COUNTRY Caps (goals) Mark BRESCIANO Al Gharafa, Qatar 64 (12) Alex BROSQUE Al-Ain Club, UAE 19 (5) Robert CORNTHWAITE Chunnam Dragons, Korea Republic 5 (2) Jason DAVIDSON SC Heracles Almelo, Netherlands 1 (0) Adam FEDERICI (gk) Reading FC, England 7 (0) James HOLLAND FK Austria Vienna, Austria 8 (0) Brett HOLMAN Aston Villa FC, England 57 (8) Mile JEDINAK Crystal Palace FC, England 37 (3) Robbie KRUSE Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany 21 (2) Mathew LECKIE FSV Frankfurt 1899, Germany 1 (0) Ryan McGOWAN Shandong Luneng Taishan FC 2 (0) Matt McKAY Changchun Yatai FC, China PR 33 (1) Lucas NEILL Al-Wasl Sports Club, UAE 88(0) Tommy OAR FC Utrecht, Netherlands 6 (0) Nikita RUKAVYTSYA FSV Mainz, Germany 10 (1) Mark SCHWARZER (gk) Fulham FC, England 103 (0) Luke WILKSHIRE FK Dinamo Moscow, Russia 73 (7) Rhys WILLIAMS Middlesbrough FC, England 10 (0) Michael ZULLO FC Utrecht, Netherlands 9 (0)

Romania v Qantas Socceroos Wednesday 6 February 2013 Estadio Ciudad de Malaga, Malaga, Spain Kick-off: 9:00pm CET (7:00am AEDT)

For ticketing details click here

Current FIFA World Rankings (as at 19 December 2012) Romania - 33rd Australia - 36th

2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier Qantas Socceroos v Oman Tuesday 26 March 2013 Stadium Australia, Homebush Kick-Off: 7:30pm AEDT

Ticket Prices - Single Match Tickets Category A - $95 all tickets Category B - $65 Adult, $35 Concession, $165 Family Category C- $40 Adult, $20 Concession, $95 Family Australian Active Area - $45 Adult, $25 Concession

Ticket Prices - 10% Discount - General Public 2 match pass Category A - $171 all tickets Category B - $117 Adult, $63 Concession, $297 Family Category C - $72 Adult, $36 Concession, $171 Family Australian Active Area - $81 Adult, $45 Concession

Ticket Prices are inclusive of GST & Booking Fee. Transaction and credit card fees apply.

Concession (Pensioner, Student, Child) Pensioner - Aged,TPI (valid ID cards) including seniors cards Student - Full time tertiary and secondary school students (valid ID required) Child - 4-16 years inclusive (children 3 years and under are free unless they are occupying a seat) National Companion Card Accepted Family - 2 Adults and 2 Children For more information click here