FFA chief executive Ben Buckley is delighted to have secured a friendly with the African side currently sitting at 15 in the Fifa rankings.

And he has confirmed to au.fourfourtwo.com that the visitors to Sydney Football Stadium on May 23 will contain Ghana’s top stars.

Buckley said: “We’ve got some conditions in our agreement that says they have to field a full strength team so we’re confident they’ll have their best available squad here to play as well.”

That means Chelsea’s Michael Essien, Portsmouth’s Sulley Ali Muntari and Fenerbahce’s Stephen Appiah are all expected to grace the Sydney stage.

In what is seen as vital preparation for a crucial June of World Cup qualifiers, Australia’s finest should also be on hand for duty.

Buckley said: “Certainly they play a different style of football than many of the teams we play in the Asia (World Cup) group.

“It’s a good chance for some of the players who haven’t been regular members of the squad to put their hand up and stake a claim for matches during that crucial four week period in June.

"But it’s also a good chance for the team to come together as they won’t have played together or trained together for something like two months. Pim Verbeek was certainly keen to have a hit out against quality opposition.

“All of the (overseas) players have said that they would make themselves available.

"No doubt Pim and his staff will have to weigh up the balance of the team to make sure players get adequate time to recover from a gruelling season.

"Certainly from a planning perspective though, we expect and understand to have all the players available.”

Buckley admits the FFA has other top ranking nations on its wish list for friendly fixtures on Australian soil.

He said: “It’s a long list and we’re working on that over time. Hopefully we can make some more announcements with big name countries over the next couple of years.”

China then visit ANZ Stadium for the final group qualifier on June 23, the second of what Premier Morris Iemma has described as ‘two big blockbusters for Sydney’.

Iemma said: “We know the China qualifier was coveted by other cities but we beat them off and the Socceroos will play a key qualifier in Sydney. No better setting than the best city in the world, the best Olympic stadium in the world.”

The Ghana match is the start of a hectic month for the Socceroos.

Buckley said: “I don’t think football in Australia will have seen so many important matches played in such a short period of time that count for so much."