FORWARDS:

Short and sweet: Tomi Juric, Tim Cahill and Golgol Mebrahtu. There’s not a lot else out there, but that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to be excited.

Juric is a certainty – van Marwijk’s already highlighted him as a key figure, citing “strong players, dangerous in the air” as the attacking weapons he’s looking for. This leads us to Tim Cahill, who despite playing less than 120 minutes all season, appears insurmountable.

While it wouldn’t surprise many if Cahill didn't make an appearance - which would leave Jamie Maclaren rightfully angry - he's technically getting game-time at Millwall (three minutes at a time), training at a high level and let’s face it - leaving him out would cause a storm of publicity around the squad that could only act as a distraction.

There’s also the fact that it’s Timmy; he’s great in the air and he rises to big occasions. That, and Maclaren’s form in Scotland is dead-average.

The final spot, although he’s more likely to have an impact than Cahill, is Golgol Mebrahtu, the former Wanderer who plies his trade in the Czech Republic. Although he’s struggled in his last three matches since a recent injury, the physical striker has scored 14 goals in 35 appearances since moving to Europe.

The 27-year-old is at his physical peak, playing regularly and the only Australian with that kind of record. As a result, Mebrahtu earns the final spot on (our) plane to Russia. Imagine saying that two years ago.

Maclaren, Apostolos Giannou, Awer Mabil, Nathan Burns, Bernie Ibini, Scott McDonald and Kwame Yeboah miss out.

To sum it all up, here’s a recap:

GK

Mat Ryan

Brad Jones

Danny Vukovic

DEF

Aziz Behich

Trent Sainsbury

Bailey Wright

Milos Degenek

Alex Gersbach

Matt Jurman

Mark Milligan (utility)

MID

Aaron Mooy

Massimo Luongo

Tom Rogic

Mile Jedinak

Jackson Irvine

Brett Holman

Mat Leckie

Robbie Kruse

Andrew Nabbout

Brandon Borrello

FWD

Tomi Juric

Tim Cahill

Golgol Mebrahtu