Coach Ange Postecoglou hopes the high-profile England friendly will help produce some new Caltex Socceroos stars, stressing the opportunity is there stake a claim for spots for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers later this year.
The Socceroos boss revealed his squad for the May 28 clash at Sunderland's Stadium of Light on Wednesday, with four new faces and a host of other players with just a handful of caps to their name.
Caltex Socceroos squad named for England friendly
Fresh faces named for Caltex Socceroos' England clash
Hyundai A-League stars Stefan Mauk and Jamie Maclaren are two of the uncapped players in the squad, along with midfielder Brad Inman (Crewe Alexandria) and German-based defender Milos Degenek.
With the match falling on a non-FIFA date, Asian-based players – including Tim Cahill, Trent Sainsbury, Matthew Spiranovic and Nathan Burns – were unavailable for selection.
“It’s not unusual for us (having so many new faces) especially during my tenure, the friendly games we’ve always tested guys out and given them opportunities,” Postecoglou told reporters on Wednesday.
“We did it against Germany, we did it against Belgium playing away and we did it at the World Cup [in 2014] and it served us well.
"We've found for a lot of players, exposing them to that level has held them in good stead for what's ahead.
"To play England, particularly over there, is a fantastic opportunity to test ourselves against a team heading off to the Euros and a team in good form.
"We'll give them the opportunity and hopefully it unearths a couple of new players for us."
Postecoglou has made no secret of his desire to increase the talent pool and depth of his squad and is confident he can add a few new names to that list after the England match.
But he stressed no one should feel comfortable in the national team, with only performances to determine who is involved in every camp.
Asked if the players who are missing this clash were in danger of falling out of favour, Postecoglou declared: “It doesn’t put their positions in jeopardy because their positions aren’t guaranteed, they never have been.
“And it doesn’t matter where you play, whether you’re in China, the A-League, Europe…I’ve never said anyone’s position is guaranteed, in fact we’ve done the opposite.
“We’ve made sure every camp that everyone’s on edge as to whether they get selected. The guys who are going to miss this game, others get an opportunity and if they do well it gives us more selection options.
“No one’s in jeopardy because no one is guaranteed. Every squad is selected for that camp and that game. Those players have an opportunity to ensure next time comes around they are a chance again.”
The clash against Roy Hodgson’s troops just a couple of weeks out from the European Championships is a massive task and one that will bring a lot of pressure, especially for the players new to the international scene.
But having just completed the Hyundai A-League Finals Series, Postecoglou expects the likes of Mauk, Craig Goodwin and Maclaren will have no problems handling the occasion.
“The finals concept in Australia is a good indicator of how people handle pressure. Both [Mauk and Goodwin] and Jamie Maclaren performed well in a finals series,” the Socceroos boss explained.
“When you do well in a finals series it shows your game stands up in the pressure of knockout football which international football is like.
“They are guys we want to bring in and have a look at.”
Postecoglou added on Degenek and Inman: “They are two guys that have been on our radar for a while. They have played fairly consistently this year for their teams.
“Both the teams they have played for have struggled all year so they’ve had some challenges but within that they have shown some form.
“It’s about bringing them in and having a look at them in our environment and also exposing them to that environment and see how they fit in.”
The England clash will be followed by two friendlies against Greece in early June, with a separate squad for those games to be announced next week.