1 / 9

Richard Porta
The Sydney-born Uruguayan is a favourite suggestion of many fans and some journalists due to his at times impressive goal-scoring statistics in South America. Osieck has confirmed that he is keeping close tabs on the 29-year-old striker and will check him out at new club Dubai Club, but he admitted Porta's scout reports haven't come back too impressive. Our theory is that Porta could also be seen as a potential disruption to the impeccable team spirit in the Socceroos dressing room.

2 / 9

Eddy Bosnar
As Alex Brosque rises in stature as an international player due to his J. League form, Bosnar, 32, must be scratching his head. The goal-scoring defender's long career in Japan never earned him a senior call up, much to his dismay and many pundits' puzzlement. Ironically, new squad member Jason Davidson, who is in line to make his debut against Scotland, has earned his place by breaking into the Heracles Almelo first team; Bosnar played over 40 times for the Dutch club earlier in his career.

3 / 9

Tommy Oar
Just one of the numerous young superstars of the A-League who has failed to stick around the squad after making his club move overseas. Oar got a sniff under Pim Verbeek and starred for the Socceroos in a 1-0 win over Indonesia in an Asian Cup Qualifier way back before the last World Cup, but has not kicked on. He was on the fringes of the FC Utrecht first team last season but he needs to cement a spot and hit top form to force his way into Osieck's thoughts.

4 / 9

Mathew Leckie
The former Adelaide winger tore up the A-League and even caught Verbeek's attention with his form here - but like Oar, he has fallen off the radar since moving to Europe despite promising to become one of that next generation to push through. A loan move to 2.Bundesliga side FSV Frankfurt should help the Borussia Monchengladbach man secure first team football this season, and it would be a surprise to see him out of Osieck's plans for much longer.

5 / 9

Nikita Rukavytsya
It would be too much to call the Hertha Berlin striker an outcast – he is still in and around the Socceroos squad when available. But having seen game time at the 2010 World Cup and now helpeing his side win promotion to the Bundesliga, it could be argued Rukavytsya should have entrenched himself as a regular Socceroos starter at age 25 rather than the occasional substitute. A big year from him could see ageing forwards like Archie Thompson struggle to keep their place.

6 / 9

Nathan Burns
The former Adelaide starlet has compiled a measly 94 minutes of competitive football since switching to Incheon United near the start of the year. Burns has seven international caps to his name and time on his side but he desperately needs to get his club career back on track before even thinking about the Socceroos. At 24, he's another one of that non-existent next generation who should be firmly entrenched in the Australia squad by now.

7 / 9

Joel Griffiths
Tim Cahill might be trading passes with Thierry Henry in New York but you could argue our highest profile export right now is the man sharing a dressing room with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. China's - and the world's - eyes are on Shanghai Shenhua but our national team coaches have kept theirs off Griffiths for years now, despite his prolific scoring record at home and in Asia. He famously slammed Verbeek for ignoring him and has had little love since.

8 / 9

James Holland
Griffiths's former team-mate at Newcastle is probably on the verge of coming back into contention after finding a happy home at Austria Wien, where he is now a regular in midfield. At 23, he is yet another who could have had caps into the double figures by now had his potential been fulfilled at club level sooner.

9 / 9

Brent McGrath
McGrath's debut came in a memorable match – our 2-1 friendly win over Germany early in Osieck's reign – but his involvement with the Socceroos has been forgotten by many. The 21-year-old striker is building a career at Brondby, but he needs to become a regular starter and scorer there to get back amongst the green and gold. His name is often bandied about when talking about refreshing the squad, and Osieck is watching.