McDonald: Recalled by Osieck
Also see
Teams
Players
Australia's new head coach Holger Osieck has recalled Middlesbrough striker Scott McDonald to the squad for their upcoming friendlies with Switzerland and Poland.
McDonald was left out of Pim Verbeek's World Cup squad for South Africa after failing to score in 16 appearances for the national side.
While Osieck has not seen McDonald in action personally he has heard good reviews from European coaches.
Osieck has also kept faith with experienced attacker Harry Kewell, despite his bitter war of words with former Socceroo Robbie Slater, while also including his Galatasaray team-mate Lucas Neill.
"I contacted a lot of people in Europe that I respect a lot, top-class coaches who rate him pretty highly," Osieck said of McDonald.
"He has got the chance to be called. I will see how well he integrates into the team, how well he can be a valuable asset to our team."
He added on Kewell: "I saw him play in the Europa League game and from my perspective it was a decent performance. He assisted the two Galatasaray goals and apart from that, his overall performance was okay. I don't see any reason not to invite him.
"I didn't follow the pros and cons in the media too much, I heard about it. It's not my position to get involved with this and my first and foremost occupation is to get a good team together. I had a chat with Harry and was impressed by his attitude, his approach and his commitment to the team."
Osieck's goalkeeping options are both England-based in the shape of Fulham's Mark Schwarzer and Reading's Adam Federici, while Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton, of Everton and Blackburn, have been named in his 20-man squad.
Australia's full squad: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Adam Federici (Reading); Michael Beauchamp (Melbourne Heart), Jade North (Wellington Phoenix), David Carney (FC Twente), Lucas Neill (Galatasaray), Matthew Spiranovic (Urawa Red Diamonds); Carl Valeri (Sassuolo), Jason Culina (Gold Coast United), Tim Cahill (Everton), Richard Garcia (Hull), Mile Jedinak (Genclerbirligi), Brett Emerton (Blackburn), Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow), Dario Vidosic (Nurnberg), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar); Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus), Nathan Burns (AEK Athens).
