Four A-League based players have joined the 19 overseas-based players, which includes12 Socceroos that competed at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Liverpool FC goalkeeper Brad Jones returns to the Qantas Socceroos squad after he withdrew from the 2010 World Cup due to a serious illness within his family.

And Melbourne Victory striker Robbie Kruse receives his first Qantas Socceroos squad call-up at the age of 22 after previously representing Australia as a Qantas Joey and Qantas Young Socceroo.

Leeds United midfielder Neil Kilkenny receives his first Qantas Socceroos call up since his last appearance in the 2010 World Cup Qualifier against China in 2008.

Current AFC Asian Player of the Year Sasa Ognenovski again joins the Socceroos squad after making his senior international debut against Egypt last month, and fellow defender Matthew Spiranovic returns to the squad after his successful recovery from a hamstring injury.

But there was no place for youngster Tommy Oar or young Turk Ersan Gulum in the final squad.

The Socceroos will assemble for a pre-tournament training camp in Dubai from Monday which will include an international friendly match against the UAE at the Khalifa Stadium in Al Ain, UAE on Wednesday January 5, 2011 (Kick-off 6:30pm local, 1:30am AEDT).

The Socceroos will arrive in Doha, Qatar on Thursday January 6 and will play their opening match of Group C against India on Monday January 10 (4:15pm local, 12:15am AEDT), followed by the Korea Republic on Friday January 14 (4:15pm local, 12:15am AEDT) and their final group match against Bahrain on Tuesday  January 18 ,(4:15pm local, 12:15am AEDT) .

The quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 will be played on Friday January 21 & Saturday January 22 , the semi-finals on Tuesday January 25, third place play-off on Friday January 28 and the final on Saturday January 29.

Qantas Socceroos Squad for AFC Asian Cup Qatar™ – Tuesday 28 December 2010

Player Name

Position

Club, Country

A-International Appearances (goals)

Nathan BURNS

FW

AEK Athens, Greece

4 (0)

Tim CAHILL

FW

Everton FC, England

46 (21)

David CARNEY

DF

Blackpool FC, England

32 (4)

Nathan COE

GK

Sønderjysk Elitesport, Denmark

-

Jason CULINA

MF

Gold Coast United, Australia

56 (1)

Brett EMERTON

MF

Blackburn Rovers, England

78 (17)

Richard GARCIA

MF

Hull City FC, England

13 (0)

Brett HOLMAN

MF

AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands

38 (5)

Mile JEDINAK

MF

Genclerbirligi SK, Turkey

17 (0)

Brad JONES

GK

Liverpool FC, England

2 (0)

Harry KEWELL

MF

Galatasaray SK, Turkey

47 (13)

Neil KILKENNY

MF

Leeds United FC, England

2 (0)

Robbie KRUSE

FW

Melbourne Victory, Australia

-

Scott McDONALD

FW

Middlesbrough FC, England

20 (0)

Jon McKAIN

DF

Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia

14 (0)

Matt McKAY

MF

Brisbane Roar, Australia

6 (0)

Lucas NEILL

DF

Galatasaray SK, Turkey

63 (0)

Jade NORTH

DF

Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

31 (0)

Sasa OGNENOVSKI

DF

Seongnam Ilhwa, Korea Republic

1 (0)

Mark SCHWARZER

GK

Fulham FC, England

82 (0)

Matthew SPIRANOVIC

DF

Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan

5 (0)

Carl VALERI

MF

U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, Italy

29 (0)

Luke WILKSHIRE

DF

FK Dinamo Moscow, Russia

50 (3)

Upcoming Match Details

International Friendly Match
United Arab Emirates v Qantas Socceroos
Wednesday, 5 January 2010
Kick-off: 6:30pm GST (1:30am AEDT, 1:00am ACDT 12:20am AEST, 10:00pm AWST)
Khalifa Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates