Brisbane Roar defensive duo Matt Smith and Ivan Franjic have been named in Qantas Socceroos squad for next week’s East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) East Asian Cup 2013 qualifying tournament in Hong Kong.
Brisbane Roar defensive duo Matt Smith and Ivan Franjic have been named in Qantas Socceroos squad for next week-s East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) East Asian Cup 2013 qualifying tournament in Hong Kong.
After this week-s pre-tournament camp in Sydney, the pair made Holger Oseick-s 20-man playing group while Roar teammate Ben Halloran unfortunately not making the final cut.
With Australia playing four games in seven days against Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Guam and DPR Korea, Smith and Franjic are likely to make their national team debuts in what has been a quick rise to success for both of them.
Just three years ago, the pair were still playing semi-professional football at state league level – Smith with Brisbane Strikers in the Queensland State League and Franjic with Oakleigh Cannons in the Victorian Premier League.
The Qantas Socceroos squad will depart for Hong Kong today before matches against the host nation (Monday 3 December), DPR Korea (Wednesday 5 December), Guam (Friday 7 December) and Chinese Taipei (Sunday 9 December).
The timeframe means Smith and Franjic will miss this weekend-s home fixture against Newcastle Jets and next week-s maiden trip to face Western Sydney Wanderers.
The EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 will be held in Seoul, Korea Republic from 20-28 July 2013.
Qantas Socceroos squad: Terry ANTONIS (Sydney FC, Australia), Eli BABALJ (FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd, SERBIA), Aziz BEHICH (Melbourne Heart FC, Australia), Robert CORNTHWAITE(Chunnam Dragons, KOREA REPUBLIC), Dino DJULBIC (Guizhou Renhe, CHINA PR), Ivan FRANJIC (Brisbane Roar FC, Australia), Brett EMERTON (Sydney FC, Australia), Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) (Adelaide United FC, Australia), Richard GARCIA (Melbourne Heart FC, Australia), Scott JAMIESON (Perth Glory FC, Australia), Michael MARRONE (Melbourne Heart FC, Australia), Matt McKAY (Busan I Park, KOREA REPUBLIC), Mark MILLIGAN (Melbourne Victory FC, Australia), Aaron MOOY (Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia), Tom ROGIC (Central Coast Mariners FC, Australia), Mat RYAN (gk) (Central Coast Mariners FC, Australia), Matt SMITH (Brisbane Roar FC, Australia), Adam TAGGART (Newcastle Jets FC, Australia), Archie THOMPSON (Melbourne Victory FC, Australia), Michael THWAITE (Perth Glory FC, Australia)
