Team for Kuwait Away Tie

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that Graham Arnold is on the verge of selecting a squad comprised of European based fringe Socceroos for the national team's next away encounter with Kuwait.

A fantastic idea.

Australia's has already qualified for the Asian Cup after defeating Kuwait at home with a third-choice squad selected from the A-League. The outcome of the next match is not important, but it's a perfect occasion for players on the periphery to stand up and make a name for themselves.

The Telegraph's David Lewis has his own opinions about who should or might be selected, including the following (these should be taken with a punch of salt):

Jacob Burns (Wisla Krakow), Chris Coyne (Luton), Richard Garcia (Colchester), Paul Henderson (Leicester), Brett Holman (NEC Nijmegen), Neil Kilkenny (Birmingham), Patrick Kisnorbo (Leicester), Scott McDonald (Motherwell), Nick Ward (QPR), James Wesolowski (Leicester), plus five regular Socceroos based overseas.

Elsewhere, it is reported that Ward is only a standby for the team.

Other players who could find themselves in the mix include:

Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor), Brad Jones (on loan to Sheffield Wednesday), Michael Beauchamp (FC Nürnberg), Michael Thwaite (Wisla Krakow), Jon McKain (FCU Politehnica Timisoara), Carl Valeri (Grosseto), Kaz Patafta (Benfica B), David Williams (Brondby).

While, the dark horses, aside from the ones already listed, could be:

Adrian Madaschi (Grosseto), Dean Heffernan (FC Nürnberg), Shane Sherriff (Tranmere Rovers), Eddie Bosnar (Heracles Almelo), Wayne Srhoj (FC National Bucuresti), Danny Invincible (Kilmarnock), Ryan Griffiths (Rapid Bucuresti), Dylan MacAllister (Lyn Oslo).

Of the regular Socceroos, my money is on Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel), Luke Wilkshire (FC Twente), Mile Sterjovski (FC Basel), Ahmad Elrich (Fulham) and John Aloisi (Alaves).

Two of the big question marks will be Ljubo Milicevic (BSC Young Boys) and Josip Skoko (Wigan), who were outspoken in their criticism of non-selection for the World Cup squad and team sheet respectively. If Arnold doesn't pick them now, they may find it hard to get back into the equation for next year's tournament.