Verbeek selects 30-man squad for remaining qualifiers

Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected an extended 30-player squad for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Asian Qualifier Round 4 matches against Qatar, Bahrain and Japan in June.

Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected an extended 30-player squad for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Asian Qualifier Round 4 matches against Qatar, Bahrain and Japan in June.

Joining the Qantas Socceroos squad for the first time are Rhys Williams and Dario Vidosic, who have both been rewarded with selection following their outstanding form at their respective clubs.

20-year old Rhys Williams recently publically declared his desire to be selected for the Qantas Socceroos after previously representing the Welsh Youth National team on 10 occasions. Williams, was loaned out to English Championship Club Burnley by his club Middlesbrough for the past season and helped the Clarets to the Football League Championship play-offs.

After moving from the Queensland Roar to FC Nurnberg in 2007, Dario Vidosic has become a regular member of his club-s first team squad this season. Having been used mostly as a substitute, Vidosic has made 11 appearances and scored 3 goals and is currently involved in the club-s play-off matches against Energie Cottbus for promotion to the German Bundesliga.

Nick Carle, Brad Jones, Adrian Madaschi, Mark Milligan, Matthew Spiranovic and Shane Steffanuto all return to the Qantas Socceroos squad after various lengths of time out of selection.

In particular, this will be Adrian Madaschi-s first Qantas Socceroos Squad since 2004. Perth-born Madaschi made his senior international debut for the Qantas Socceroos in 2004 against New Zealand, at the OFC Nations Cup in Adelaide, which was part of the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. His last match for the Qantas Socceroos was against Fiji at the same tournament. Currently playing in the Lega Pro Prima Divisione in Italy with Portogruaro-Summaga, Madaschi was previously a team mate of Carl Valeri at Grosseto in 2005 following stints at Partick Thistle & Dundee United in Scotland. Madaschi was also member of the Qantas Olyroos team that represented Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The Qantas Socceroos will assemble for a training camp in Dubai ahead of their 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Asian Qualifier Round 4 match against Qatar in Doha on Saturday 6 June, before returning to Australia to face Bahrain in Sydney on Wednesday 10 June and then Japan in Melbourne on Wednesday 17 June.

The Qantas Socceroos need only a point from the three remaining qualifier matches to secure a place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa.

Australian fans can show their support the Qantas Socceroos in their journey to South Africa by purchasing tickets from Ticketek either online (www.ticketek.com.au), over the phone (132 849) or at any Ticketek outlet or agency.

All Qantas Socceroos matches will be broadcast “Live and Exclusive” on FOX SPORTS.

QANTAS SOCCEROOS SQUAD - Wednesday 27 May 2009

Mark BRESCIANO - U.S. Citta di Palermo ITALY 48 (11) Jacob BURNS - FC Unirea Valahorum ROMANIA 9 (0) Tim CAHILL - Everton ENGLAND 31 (14) Nick CARLE - Crystal Palace FC ENGLAND 7 (0) David CARNEY - Sheffield United FC ENGLAND 18 (1) Scott CHIPPERFIELD - FC Basel SWITZERLAND 60 (12) Chris COYNE - Colchester United FC ENGLAND 5 (0) Jason CULINA - Gold Coast United AUSTRALIA 38 (1) Bruce DJITE - Genclerbirligi SK TURKEY 7 (0) Richard GARCIA - Hull City FC ENGLAND 4 (0) Vincenzo GRELLA - Blackburn Rovers ENGLAND 37 (0) Brett HOLMAN - AZ Alkmaar HOLLAND 23 (1) Mile JEDINAK - Genclerbirligi SK TURKEY 4 (0) Brad JONES - Middlesbrough FC ENGLAND 1 (0) Josh KENNEDY - Karlsruher SC GERMANY 12 (6) Harry KEWELL - Galatasaray SK TURKEY 39 (13) Adrian MADASCHI - Portogruaro-Summaga ITALY 4 (2) Scott McDONALD - Celtic FC SCOTLAND 11 (0) Mark MILLIGAN - Shanghai Shenhua CHINA 6 (0) Lucas NEILL - West Ham United FC ENGLAND 48 (0) Jade NORTH - Incheon United FC KOREA REPUBLIC 23 (0) Michael PETKOVIC - Sivasspor TURKEY 6 (0) Mark SCHWARZER - Fulham FC ENGLAND 65 (0) Matthew SPIRANOVIC - FC Nurnberg GERMANY 2 (0) Shane STEFANUTTO - FC Lyn Oslo NORWAY 1 (0) Mile STERJOVSKI - Derby County FC ENGLAND 39 (7) Carl VALERI - U.S. Grosseto FC ITALY 16 (0) Dario VIDOSIC - FC Nurnberg GERMANY - Luke WILKSHIRE - FK Dinamo Moscow RUSSIA 33 (0) Rhys WILLIAMS - Middlesbrough FC ENGLAND -