Australian captain Lucas Neill has been axed from Ange Postecoglou’s squad to face Ecuador in an international friendly in London next month.
Neill and teammate Mark Bresciano were left off the 23-year man Socceroos squad to play on March 5, spelling the possible end of both players’ World Cup aspirations.
The 35-year-old Neill had been rumoured to be in Postecoglou’s bad books since the recently appointed head coach took over the role in October last year.
The defender inked a deal earlier this week with English second division club Watford after having been without a team since leaving Japanese side Omiya Ardija in December, a move that came too late to save his spot in the squad.
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It remains unsure whether Neill will make the team travelling to Brazil mid-year, however Postecoglou has stressed his desire to only field players playing at club level.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Postecoglou hinted towards playing an experimental squad in the Ecuador friendly.
“The squad to face Ecuador represents the first steps in what I believe is the building of the next golden generation for Australian football acknowledging there is a need to balance experimentation and experience to achieve this,” Postecoglou said.
“The Ecuador match gives this group of players an opportunity to stake a claim for the World Cup. They have been rewarded for playing consistent and strong football and shows that age and limited international experience are not barriers to opportunity.”
Included in the new-look outfit are Curtis Good (Dundee United), Chris Herd (Aston Villa), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers) and Ben Holloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf).
The only exclusion from the squad Postecoglou directly addressed was Brett Holman, who he declared is “very much in the frame” for Brazil, failing to elaborate on the future of the other aging veterans left off the squad.
Long-time keeper Mark Schwarzer was retired from the Socceroos shortly after Postecoglou took over coaching duties and it doesn’t seem farfetched to assume Neill and Bresciano aren’t too far behind him.
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