Changes tipped for Caltex Socceroos’ Greece clashes

Ange Postecoglou will name his Caltex Socceroos squad for next month’s Dodoni Series against Greece on Tuesday with changes expected from the squad that will line-up against England.

With the two games against Greece – in Sydney (June 4) and Melbourne (June 7) – falling inside the FIFA window, Postecoglou will have a full set of players to choose from.

Players based in Asia were unavailable for selection for the glamour friendly with England on May 28 (AEST) due to their leagues still being in action that weekend.

Greece squad named for Caltex Socceroos friendlies

It means the likes of Tim Cahill, Matthew Spiranovic, Trent Sainsbury, Nathan Burns, Ryan McGowan and Apostolos Giannou are all available and likely to earn re-calls to the squad.

Chinese-based defender Aleksandar Jovanovic is a possible new face Postecoglou may call on after a string of impressive performances for Tianjin Teda this season.

Aleksandar Jovanovic

The 26-year-old was scouted by the Socceroos boss on his recent trip to China and got through another strong 90 minutes over the weekend in his side’s 0-0 draw with McGowan’s Henan Jianye.  

Postecoglou is not short of defensive options coming out of the CSL though, with both Sainsbury and Spiranovic almost certain to come into the squad as well.

The pair – a key partnership in Australia’s AFC Asian Cup win last year – haven’t played together in the Green and Gold since that historic triumph.

Sainsbury’s consistency has been a feature of his season with Jiangsu Suning, who are second in China following their 0-0 draw with Shíjiāzhuāng Yǒngchāng over the weekend.

Trent Sainsbury on the ball for Socceroos against Jordan in March.

Spiranovic was also part of a defence that kept a clean sheet in Huangzhou’s recent game, a stalemate against Liaoning Whowin, in which Cahill also got through 80 minutes.

The only player in the squad for the England clash which won’t be available to take on Greece is midfielder Massimo Luongo.

The QPR midfielder has already ruled himself out of the two-game series, with his wife due to give birth to the couple’s first child.

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