Dukes left out of Roos squad

[the_gun]

Mark Viduka has been omitted from Pim Verbeek's 30-man Socceroos squad to take on Qatar on June 7, ending weeks of speculation the veteran striker would make a surprise return to the national team.

Verbeek had reportedly sounded Viduka out in the lead up to Wednesday's squad announcement and hinted that he would only select the 33-year-old if he was committed to playing next season, adding fuel to speculation the Newcastle United striker may hang up his boots.

Virtually all of Australia's big-name players were included in Wednesday's squad, including Tim Cahill, who could be rested for the match against Qatar due to his involvement in Sunday morning's (AEST) FA Cup final.

Joining the Socceroos squad for the first time are Rhys Williams and Dario Vidosic, who have both been rewarded with selection following their outstanding form at their respective clubs.

Williams, 20, recently publicly declared his desire to be selected for the Qantas Socceroos after previously representing the Welsh Youth National team on 10 occasions.

Williams was loaned out to Championship club Burnley by Middlesbrough for the past season and helped the Clarets to the play-offs - in which they won promotion to the Premier League.

After moving from the Queensland Roar to FC Nurnberg in 2007, Dario Vidosic has became a regular member of the first team squad this season.

Having been used mostly as a substitute, the attacking midfielder has made 11 appearances and scored three goals and is currently involved in the club’s play-off matches against Energie Cottbus for promotion to the German Bundesliga.

Nick Carle, Brad Jones, Adrian Madaschi, Mark Milligan, Matthew Spiranovic and Shane Steffanuto all return to the Socceroos fold after various lengths of time out of selection.

Perth–born Madaschi made his senior international debut for the Socceroos in 2004 against New Zealand. His last match for the Socceroos was against Fiji at the same tournament.

Currently playing in the Lega Pro Prima Divisione in Italy with Portogruaro-Summaga, Madaschi was previously a team mate of Carl Valeri at Grosseto in 2005 following stints at Partick Thistle & Dundee United in Scotland.

Madaschi was also member of the Qantas Olyroos team that represented Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Midfielder Jason Culina, who recently joined Gold Coast, was the only A-League player in the squad with defender Craig Moore unavailable due to injury.

The Socceroos will assemble for a training camp in Dubai ahead of the crucial match against Qatar in Doha on Saturday 6 June (Sunday June 7 AEST) , before returning to Australia to face Bahrain in Sydney on Wednesday 10 June and then Japan in Melbourne on Wednesday 17 June.

A point is all Pim Verbeek's men need from their three remaining games to advance to a second consecutive World Cup finals.

SOCCEROOS SQUAD: Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Jacob Burns (Unirea), Tim Cahill (Everton), Nick Carle (Crystal Palace), David Carney (Sheffield Utd), Scott Chipperfield (Basel), Chris Coyne (Colchester), Jason Culina (Gold Coast Utd), Bruce Djite (Genclerbirligi), Richard Garcia (Hull), Vince Grella (Blackburn), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar), Mile Jedinak (Genclerbirligi), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough), Josh Kennedy (Karlsruhe), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Adrian Madaschi (Portogruaro), Scott McDonald (Celtic), Mark Milligan (Shanghai Shenhua), Lucas Neill (West Ham), Jade North (Incheon), Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Matthew Spiranovic (Nurnberg), Shane Stefanutto (Lyn Oslo), Mile Sterjovski (Derby), Carl Valeri (Grosseto), Dario Vidosic (Nurnberg), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough).