Cahill to miss friendlies, Thompson named

Australia manager Holger Osieck has excluded star midfielder Tim Cahill for friendlies against New Zealand and Serbia.

The Socceroos boss also left out Mark Schwarzer and Harry Kewell, but included Melbourne Victory striker Archie Thompson in the 23-man squad.

Cahill and Kewell were both expected to miss as they recover from long European seasons, but the absence of Schwarzer due to ‘injury reasons’ was a shock.

The Fulham shot-stopper’s absence gives Adam Federici, Nathan Coe and Mitchell Langerak a chance to fight for the spot of Schwarzer’s successor. David Carney is the other first-choice player to sit the matches out.

Lucas Neill will captain the team in the matches in Adelaide (New Zealand on June 5) and Melbourne (Serbia on June 7), with much of the squad likely to get a chance given the tight scheduling.

Thompson gets an opportunity to prove himself having been in international exile since he played in an Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait in Canberra in 2009.

“These opportunities for me don’t really come around much due mainly to my age. Age is only a number really, I’m feeling good and he wouldn’t have picked me if he didn’t feel I could offer something,” Thompson told Sportal.

“It was a little bit unexpected. You don’t get many opportunities like this. I’m excited. I haven’t been part of the Socceroos for a long time.”

Emerging talents James Troisi, Dario Vidosic and Michael Zullo are also recalled, while Rhys Williams returns following a successful recovery from a groin injury, while Josh Kennedy is also back in calculations after missing the past few matches.

Thompson and Matt McKay are the only A-League-based players in the squad, while Fortuna Dusseldorf-bound striker Robbie Kruse has also been named.