TWENTY-three Socceroos are in Thailand preparing for a crucial World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night, but Ange Postecoglou’s selection of an initial 30-man squad gave an indication of those closest to the periphery of the national team squad.

Internationals takes a sojourn until 2017 after this game, but with the climax of qualifying and a Confederations Cup competition next year, the incentive for Postecoglou to expand the playing pool, and for aspiring Socceroos to knock down the door to selection, is as great as ever.

So who does sit beneath the current tier?

We’ve cast our net beyond the current 23 man squad – players who were in it and those who pulled out with injury or are obviously missing, such as Tim Cahill and Tomi Juric – to examine the depth in the country’s current stocks.

CURRENT SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS

Adam Federici (Bournemouth, England), Mitch Langerak (Stuttgart, Germany) - INJURED, Mat Ryan (Valencia, Spain), Mark Birighitti (Swansea, England)

DEFENDERS

Milos Degenek (1860 Munich, Germany), Alex Gersbach (Rosenbory, Norway), Josh Risdon (Perth Glory), Trent Sainsbury (Jiangsu, China), Brad Smith (Bournemouth, England), Matthew Spiranovic (Huangzhou Greentown, China), Bailey Wright (Preston North End, England)

MIDFIELDERS

Jackson Irvine (Burton Albion, England), Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa, England) James Jeggo (Sturm Graz, Austria), Massimo Luongo (QPR, England) – INJURED, Mark Milligan (Baniyas, UAE), Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield, England), Tom Rogic (Celtic, Scotland), Luke Brattan (Melbourne City).

ATTACKERS

Nathan Burns (FC Tokyo, Japan), Craig Goodwin (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands), Tomi Juric (Luzern, Switzerland) - INJURED, Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Mathew Leckie (Ingolstadt, Germany), Jamie Maclaren (Brisbane Roar), Tim Cahill (Melbourne City) – RESTED, Apostolos Giannou (Guanghzhou R&F – China)

Socceroos possible XI for Thailand game:

Ryan; Degenek, Spiranovic, Sainsbury, Smith; Rogic, Jedinak, Mooy; Kruse, Maclaren, Leckie

Second XI in Thailand:

Federici; Risdon, Wright, Milligan/Degenek, Gersbach; Irvine, Milligan/Brattan, Jeggo; Burns, Giannou, Goodwin

Ange Postecoglou has options to consider. Source: News Corp Australia

‘SOCCEROOS B TEAM’

Brad Jones; Jason Geria, Alex Wilkinson, Ryan McGowan, Aziz Behich; Stefan Mauk, Josh Brillante, Chris Ikonomidis; James Troisi, Adam Taggart, Tommy Oar.

The next rung underneath picks itself with players who have been around the Socceroos camp in recent months.

Aziz Behich was part of the Asian Cup success, but despite playing regularly for Bursaspor in Turkey, finds himself behind young talents Gersbach and Smith currently. Alex Wilkinson’s stocks are still solid given his role in Sydney FC’s emphatic defensive start to the season, while Postecoglou has been on the record saying McGowan, who has deputised at right back, is more comfortable playing in the middle. There’s no doubt that Jason Geria is projected to be a regular future Roo, but he found himself leapfrogged by Risdon in this squad having been inconsistent so far in Melbourne Victory’s campaign.

Socceroos B. Source: FOX SPORTS

Brad Jones, now 34, hasn’t been seen on the radar for a while but he has come back into the frame after being No.2 at Liverpool, now getting regular game time with Feyenoord in Holland, and the Europa League.

Stefan Mauk got a sniff of the Socceroos set-up after his stellar role in Adelaide United’s championship run. The 21-year-old midfield talent impressed with his all action ability, but has found himself biding his time for a recall while trying to build his case at NEC in Holland, where he has not featured much this season.

Josh Brillante, Postecoglou’s genuine bolter before the 2014 World Cup, is one to watch. He has returned to the A-League to re-establish himself after a stint in Italy. He has been superb for Sydney FC in the middle of the park and you sense if he continues that, he could come into the picture, especially for his adaptability.

Adam Peacock, Simon Hill and Daniel Garb are back to discuss all the big issues in the world of football.

There’s a trio of forgotten Socceroos up front, with eyes on whether James Troisi (Asian Cup final winner), Adam Taggart (start against Spain at the World Cup), and Tommy Oar (regular until recently) can return to their best at Victory, Glory and Roar respectively once they all regain full fitness and confidence. Oar’s surprise inclusion in the preliminary 30 for Thailand hints that past contributors have not been forgotten, and players like these three are possibly being thrown the gauntlet to prove their wares again. Taggart has a particularly big opportunity given there’s a paucity of genuine No.9 options beneath the current squad.

Joshua Rose of Melbourne City is challenged by the defence of Tommy Oar. Source: Getty Images

‘SOCCEROOS C TEAM’

Alex Cisak; Ivan Franjic, Tomislav Mrcela, Luke DeVere, Jason Davidson; Aiden O’Neill, James Holland, Matt McKay; Awer Mabil, Bradden Inman; Mitch Nichols

Depth starts to thin as we explore the options further down but there’s a clear sprinkling of players that have been tried in the last two years, previous regulars building a case after injury and one or two talents projected for good things.

Burnley’s Aiden O’Neill, 18, is an interesting proposition, having earned Premier League time this season, placed in midfield alongside two previous regulars. McKay is a safe go-to for Postecoglou, while Holland has returned to Australia with Adelaide to make another push for inclusion after drifting from the picture after the World Cup.

You only have to look at the games Postecoglou has thrown Franjic and DeVere into to know his thoughts on the pair; Franjic is the prototype right back the side craves, but he’s been wretched with injuries since moving abroad and is looking to make his case via Melbourne City. Brisbane Roar defender DeVere’s one international came in a 2-2 draw in Germany, before injury struck him down.

Socceroos C. Source: FOX SPORTS

Another player who has played under the national team boss is Nichols. Like Troisi, he sits in a position where Australia is blessed with talent at the moment, but an influential A-League season could see his case strengthen.

Former Adelaide flyer Mabil is still raw, but the 21-year-old, now on loan at Esbjerg in Denmark, on loan from Midtjylland, is a talented prospect in a position Australia lacks depth. Inman, unfortunately, has seen his progress tall with a broken leg in his first pre-season in Peterbrough. Hopefully he can return from that nightmare start later this season to reprise the form that saw him earn a call-up for the England international earlier this year after impressing for Crewe Alexandra.

Goalkeeper Alex Cisak is a regular for Leyton Orient in League Two in England, and has been called up previously by Postecoglou.

Mitch Nichols of the Western Sydney Wanderers. Source: AAP

‘SOCCEROOS D TEAM’

Lawrence Thomas; Jack Hingert, Shane Lowry, Rhys Williams, Michael Zullo; Terry Antonis, Neil Kilkenny; Ben Halloran, Mustafa Amini, Daniel De Silva; Bernie Ibini

Even though a lot of the players in this line-up aren’t regularly mentioned at the moment in Socceroos despatches, it is interesting that four teams down, there’s still a fair bit of international experience.

Williams, Zullo, Antonis, Kilkenny, Halloran and Ibini have all tasted action in green and gold – and all would love another crack after arguably not seizing the moment for various reasons first time around.

Amini and De Silva are two creative talents starting to find their feet in Europe, but, two up and coming stars in a position Australia are well stocked in. Amini is playing regularly at AGF in Denmark, and it is a touch surprising he hasn’t been called up at some point, having spent the last few seasons at Borussia Dortmund in Germany and Randers in Denmark, while De Silva, a prodigious talent, is now at Roda JC in Holland.

Ibini is a bit of a stop-gap up front, but with his searing pace and goal scoring ability, it wouldn’t surprise to see him knock on the door once he regains full confidence on his comeback from injury.

Victory’s Thomas, Roar’s Hingert and Glory’s Lowry are three options from left field to add to the mix.

Other recent – or forgotten - Roos not included in these teams are Eugene Galekovic, James Meredith and Oliver Bozanic, while Brisbane Roar’s Dimitri Petratos is a bolter should he rediscover his form from last season when he returns from injury. Could Suwon striker Bruce Djite make a belated push for inclusion with form in Korea?

Watch Thailand v Australia on Tuesday 15 November on Fox Sports and follow online in our live blog from 11pm AEDT.

Live stream Socceroos v Thailand on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week FOXTEL PLAY trial and start watching in minutes. SIGN UP NOW >