Qantas Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek has selected a squad of 24 players for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifier match, presented by FOXTEL, against Kuwait in Canberra on Thursday 5 March (kick-off 8.00pm AEDT).

Twelve players from the Qantas Socceroo squad will be involved in this weekend’s Hyundai A-League 2009 Grand Final where Melbourne Victory host Adelaide United at the Telstra Dome.  Whilst Fabian Barbiero, Daniel Mullen, Mitch Nichols and Ben Kantarovski have been rewarded for their recent form in the Hyundai A-League with their first call-up to the Qantas Socceroos squad.

Daniel Mullen’s father, Joe, played two matches for the Socceroos in 1988 against European clubs IFK Gøtenburg & Dinamo Zagreb.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley is the only Qantas Socceroo squad member who hails from Canberra, having graduated from the ACT Academy of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport, before joining local club Belconnen United at senior level.  Topor-Stanley has recently completed a moved to the Newcastle Jets having previously played for Perth Glory and Sydney FC in the Hyundai A-League.

The Qantas Socceroos are drawn in Group B of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 qualification stage along with Indonesia, Kuwait and Oman.  The top two teams from each group of the qualification stage will progress to the AFC Asian Cup 2011 which will be held in Qatar.

The Qantas Socceroos are currently sitting in third position of Group B, with Kuwait in fourth.

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

Story courtesy www.footballaustralia.com.au

Qantas Socceroos Squad

NAME CLUB A-Internationals (goals)
Danny ALLSOPP Melbourne Victory 3 (0)
Fabian BARBIERO Adelaide United –
Billy CELESKI Melbourne Victory 1 (0)
Shannon COLE Sydney FC –
Robert CORNTHWAITE Adelaide United –
Tarek ELRICH Newcastle Jets –
Eugene GALEKOVIC Adelaide United 1 (0)
Dean HEFFERNAN Central Coast Mariners 1 (0)
Scott JAMIESON Adelaide United 1 (0)
Ben KANTAROVSKI Newcastle Jets –
Matthew McKAY Queensland Roar 2 (0)
Craig MOORE Queensland Roar 42 (3)
Daniel MULLEN Adelaide United –
Mitch NICHOLS Queensland Roar –
Tom PONDELJAK Melbourne Victory 5 (0)
Paul REID Adelaide United 1 (0)
Matt SIMON Central Coast Mariners 1 (0)
Michael THEOKLITOS Melbourne Victory –
Archie THOMPSON Melbourne Victory 31 (21)
Matthew THOMPSON Newcastle Jets 1 (0)
Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY Newcastle Jets 3 (0)
Rodrigo VARGAS Melbourne Victory 1 (0)
Danny VUKOVIC Central Coast Mariners –
Michael ZULLO Queensland Roar 1 (0)

Match Details

AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifying Stage – Group B – Match Details

Australia v Kuwait

Thursday 5 March 2009

Kick-off 8:00pm AEDT (7:30pm ACDT, 7:00pm AEST, 6:00pm AWDT)

Canberra Stadium, Canberra

AFC Asian Cup 2011 Qualifying Stage – Group B – Points Table

Team P W D L F A GD Pts
OMAN 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 4
INDONESIA 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
AUSTRALIA 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
KUWAIT 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0