Qantas Socceroos drop into Westfield to meet the fans

The Qantas Socceroos came to meet the fans ahead of Saturday's match against Paraguay.

The Qantas Socceroos today dropped into the Westfield Eastgardens shopping mall to meet local fans ahead of Saturday's welcome home match.

The Australian squad took turns to answer questions on stage, whilst also signing autographs and speaking to media ahead of their first home game since the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The fans who gathered around the stage were first given a chance to win tickets to Saturday's hotly anticipated friendly. Questions were thrown out to the crowd whilst they were waiting for the players to come out with over 20 pairs of tickets given out to the knowledgeable fans with the correct answers.

The event did have a couple of notable absentees though, with Tim Cahill receiving treatment for a minor knock (although it looks as if he'll play in Saturday's match) as well as Captain Lucas Neill.

The captain did not travel to Sydney for the upcoming international friendly match against Paraguay after sustaining a groin injury playing for his club, Galatasaray, in Turkey on Friday evening.

After consultation with Lucas and his club after the weekend, Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Holger Osieck decided that Lucas would not be required in camp.

Osieck will not call any additional players into the Qantas Socceroos squad for the match.

Tickets for the Qantas Socceroos match against Paraguay are available for purchase online from www.ticketek.com.auand from all Ticketek outlets.