The inclusion of veteran central defender Sasa Ognenovski as well as Brisbane right back Ivan Franjic has seen Williams slip out of contention in a major blow for the 24-year-old, who has played 11 games for the national side.

A horror season for Middlesbrough, which included a serious ankle injury that kept him out for four months, saw his form and confidence slump.

Despite being captain, he was dropped by manager Tony Mowbray soon after his return and last week told the local newspaper Middelsbrough Gazette that he struggled to rediscover his form from that point.

"As captain it hits you a little bit harder when the team is struggling because you want to show the lads you are up for the fight and when things aren't going your way it's difficult to get back to where you were," he said.

"I always try to give 200 percent no matter what but sometimes I think too much about the team rather than myself and my own game.

"I pick faults in my game and try to make sure they never happen again. It was quite a shock to myself that times had changed and I had to show it on the pitch to be able to keep my place."

Leftback Shane Lowry, who has been a mainstay at championship club Milwall this year, is also unlucky to miss out while Central Coast centre back Trent Sainsbury has been overlooked despite his strong form for the Mariners.

Lowry made 39 appearances mainly as a left back for the Lions, a position where Australia have had considerable trouble in recent years.

The two most experienced players overlooked were Brett Emerton, who appears to have fallen off the radar completely, and Harry Kewell, who has played just three games of football in over 12 months having been recently released by his Qatari club Al Gharafa.

German-based attacking pair Matthew Leckie and Nikita Rukavytsya were also overlooked, while defensive midfielder Chris Herd, who hasn't played for Aston Villa since January because of injury, was not considered despite a return to the reserves bench for his final club game earlier this week.