Australia coach Ange Postecoglou offered plenty of international hopefuls every chance of earning a berth at the Asian Cup by announcing an extended 46-man squad a month out from the tournament on Monday.
There were no major absentees from the group, which consists of every member of Australia's final 2014 World Cup squad and the majority of the players who have since featured in friendlies under Postecoglou.
Bailey Wright, Adam Taggart, Rhys Williams and Josh Kennedy were included despite battling injuries in recent months, with Celtic's Tom Rogic one of the few overlooked.
"I'm happy with the depth of squad we have been able to name and it is now up to these 46 guys to ensure they are selected in the final squad for the Asian Cup and rise to the challenge ahead," Postecoglou said in a statement released on Football Federation Australia's website.
"We have set about trying to broaden the depth of players and I'm happy with how that has transpired over the last five matches since the World Cup. We have a good group of players to choose from for what will be an exciting time for Australian football.
"We still have three or four weeks before we finalise the squad so there is opportunity for all 46 players to push their claims for inclusion in the final list of 23."
"Josh... and Rhys missed the World Cup through injury so it is nice to be able to select them in the provisional squad and there is no doubt their proven international record will give us a boost if they are named in the final squad of 23," Postecoglou said.
The final squad of 23 players must be submitted to the Asian Football Confederation by December 30, while injury replacements can be named prior to the tournament's start from the original extended squad.
