Kewell and defender Chris Coyne were both ruled out of the match after it was decided it would be a risk to their long-term fitness if they were to play in Melbourne.

The Galatasaray midfielder did not travel with the squad to Melbourne and joins the likes of other first choice players Brett Emerton, Mark Bresciano and Scott Chipperfield on the sidelines for the dead rubber against Japan.

"Both Harry and Chris played two tough games in a very short period of time," said Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek.

"Besides Mark Schwarzer and Jason Culina, Harry and Chris were the only other two players to play virtually all of the Qatar and Bahrain matches.

"Both players are disappointed that they are unable to play in the big match on Wednesday night, but physically it is best that we don't take any risks with them."