SYDNEY -- Australia captain Mile Jedinak and 71-cap veteran Tim Cahill were among 12 members of the World Cup squad named Thursday by coach Ange Postecoglou for matches against Belgium and Saudi Arabia in September.
The 20-man squad contained four uncapped players -- Brad Smith, Chris Herd, Trent Sainsbury and Bailey Wright -- as well as young A-League players Terry Antonis and Tomi Juric. Smith made his English Premier League debut last season for Liverpool.
Postecoglou said injuries ruled out Rhys Williams, Curtis Good, Tom Rogic, Matthew Spiranovic, Matt McKay and Ivan Franjic. He said veterans Mark Bresciano and Josh Kennedy could play in matches in October and November ahead of next year's Asian Cup in Australia.
"From our perspective these games are a chance to expose some young players to international football and hopefully create some depth in areas we're light on," Postecoglou said. "We want a really strong squad for the Asian Cup and we are only going to get that if we have a look at some more players."
Australia plays Belgium at Liege on Sept. 4 and Saudi Arabia at Craven Cottage, London on Sept. 8.
Australian squad: Terry Antonis, Joshua Brillante, Tim Cahill, Jason Davidson, Ben Halloran, Chris Herd, Mile Jedinak (captain), Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mitchell Langerak (goalkeeper), Matthew Leckie, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Tommy Oar, Mat Ryan (goalkeeper), Trent Sainsbury, Brad Smith, Carl Valeri, Alex Wilkinson, Bailey Wright.
