Brisbane Roar defender Luke DeVere’s strong form since returning to the club has given him the opportunity to earn his first Socceroos cap as he was today named in Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos squad for matches against Germany and FYR Macedonia this month, alongside club captain Matt McKay.
DeVere has played just 281 minutes for the Roar since he re-signed in January after four seasons with South Korean club Gyeongnam FC.
In two Hyundai A-League appearances and two AFC Champions League matches, he has performed strongly enough in the heart of defence to earn a spot in the 23-player group.
McKay, one of 18 players of Australia’s AFC Asian Cup-winning squad selected, will also travel to Europe for the matches against Germany (Wednesday, 25 March) in Kaiserslautern and FYR Macedonia (Monday, 31 March) in Skopje.
“I’m very happy for Luke, he’s made such a big impression in just a few games,” Brisbane Roar interim Head Coach Frans Thijssen said.
“Matt deserves to keep his place after his strong contribution to the Socceroos at the Asian Cup and his great efforts for us over the past few weeks.”
With a busy club schedule coming up, DeVere and McKay will miss at least two Hyundai A-League fixtures, at home to Western Sydney Wanderers (Wednesday, 25 March) and away to Melbourne City (Saturday,28 March).
Thijssen said the pair’s absence from the squad would allow for opportunities to other members of the Brisbane Roar squad, with almost all players – barring goalkeeper Michael Theo – currently fit and available for selection.
The Dutchman is also likely to be without young defenders James Donachie and Corey Brown around the same time with Australia’s U23s team playing in the AFC U23 Championship qualifiers held in Taiwan between 27 and 31 March.
SOCCEROOS SQUAD: Aziz Behich , Nathan Burns, Tim Cahill, Jason Davidson, Luke DeVere, Tarek Elrich, Adam Federici (gk), Ivan Franjic, Chris Ikonomidis, Mile Jedinak, Tomi Juric, Mitchell Langerak (gk), Mathew Leckie, Massimo Luongo, Matt McKay, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tommy Oar, Mat Ryan (gk), Trent Sainsbury, Matthew Spiranovic, James Troisi, Alex Wilkinson
Upcoming Match Details
Germany v Australia
Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern
Wednesday 25 March 2015
Kick-Off: 8:30pm local (5:30am AEST, Thursday 26 March)
FYR Macedonia v Australia
National Arena Philip II of Macedonia Stadium, Skopje, FYR Macedonia
Monday 30 March 2015
Kick-Off: 9.00pm (CET) (5:00am AEST Tuesday 31 March)
