Verbeek names squad for Korea Republic clash

Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected a 24-player squad for the upcoming international friendly match against the Korea Republic in Seoul on Saturday 5 September 2009.

Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected a 24-player squad for the upcoming international friendly match against the Korea Republic in Seoul on Saturday 5 September 2009.

Michael Beauchamp, Jason Culina, Vincenzo Grella, Josh Kennedy, Mark Milligan, Michael Petkovic and Shane Stefanutto return to the Qantas Socceroos squad having missed the recent international friendly against the Republic of Ireland in Limerick earlier this month.

Nikita Rukavytsya has again been selected in the Qantas Socceroos squad after making his senior international debut against the Republic of Ireland and Danny Invincibile gets another opportunity to possibly make his senior debut having been involved in the previous squad but unable to take part in the last match due to a slight back injury.

The Qantas Socceroos are currently placed 16th in the FIFA World Rankings and the highest ranked Asian nations whilst the Korea Republic is placed 48th and the third ranked Asian nation.

This fixture will be the 23rd time the Qantas Socceroos have faced the Korea Republic with the Australians holding the advantage with nine wins over the Koreans five, with 8 draws between them.

The last time these two teams met was at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup at the Suwon World Cup Stadium. The Korea Republic won 1-0 on that day courtesy of a 24th minute goal to Sun Hong Hwang. Coincidentally, former Qantas Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink was in charge of the Korea Republic team on that occasion and Pim Verbeek was his assistant coach.

Following this match, the Qantas Socceroos will head home to Australia in October to face the Netherlands in an international friendly match in Sydney (Saturday 10 October) before heading to Melbourne for their all important AFC Asian Cup 2001 Qualifier against Oman at Etihad Stadium (Wednesday 14 October). Tickets for both these matches are currently on sale from Ticketek (www.ticketek.com.au) and Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com.au) respectively.

All Qantas Socceroos matches are broadcast live and exclusive on FOX SPORTS.

NAMESURNAMECLUBCOUNTRYA-International matches (goals)
MichaelBEAUCHAMPAalborg BKDENMARK19 (1)
MarkBRESCIANOU.S. Citta di PalermoITALY50 (11)
NickCARLECrystal Palace FCENGLAND10 (0)
DavidCARNEYSheffield United FCENGLAND20 (3)
AnteCOVICIF ElfsborgSWEDEN2 (0)
JasonCULINAGold Coast UnitedAUSTRALIA41 (1)
VincenzoGRELLABlackburn RoversENGLAND40 (0)
BrettHOLMANAZ AlkmaarNETHERLANDS26 (1)
DannyINVINCIBILEKilmarnockSCOTLAND-
MileJEDINAKAntalyaspor KulubuTURKEY6 (0)
JoshKENNEDYNagoya GrampusJAPAN14 (6)
HarryKEWELLGalatasaray SKTURKEY42 (13)
PatrickKISNORBOLeeds United FCENGLAND15 (0)
ScottMCDONALDCeltic FCSCOTLAND14 (0)
MarkMILLIGANShangahi ShenhuaCHINA7 (0)
JadeNORTHIncheon United FCKOREA REPUBLIC27 (0)
MichaelPETKOVICSivassporTURKEY6 (0)
NikitaRUKAVYTSYAFC TwenteNETHERLANDS1 (0)
MarkSCHWARZERFulham FCENGLAND69 (0)
MatthewSPIRANOVICFC NurnbergGERMANY3 (0)
Shane STEFANUTTONorth Queensland FuryAUSTRALIA3 (0)
DarioVIDOSICFC NurnbergGERMANY1 (0)
RhysWILLIAMSMiddlesbrough FCENGLAND2 (0)
LukeWILKSHIREFK Dinamo MoscowRUSSIA35 (0)

Match Details

International Friendly Korea Republic v Qantas Socceroos Kick-off 8:00pm KST (9:00pm AEST) Saturday 5 September 2009 Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Match Broadcast LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on FOX SPORTS 3 (broadcast commences 9:00pm AEST (8:30pm ACST, 7:00pm AWST)).