MORE than two years ago Pim Verbeek watched in horror as a Socceroos team based on A-League players stumbled badly on the path to the Asian Cup.

Now Holger Osieck will have to put his faith in a clutch of domestic-based players for an assignment that will give a clear answer on the claims of some to be ready for the national team.

At the start of December, an Australian squad will face Chinese-Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong and North Korea in Hong Kong in a tournament whose winner qualifies for the East Asia Cup in July next year.

Held every four years between South Korea, Japan, China and a guest team, the 2013 vintage is in Seoul and offers major commercial opportunities for Football Federation Australia.

But of far greater interest to Socceroos fans is the fact that none of the European-based players will be available for the December qualifying pool, leaving Osieck to choose a squad from players in Asia, where most of the seasons will have just finished, and the A-League.

In practice, at least half the squad will be based in Australia, leaving Osieck with additional pressure to balance the demands of each A-League club in the middle of the season.

But it means young stars such as Terry Antonis, Tom Rogic, Aaron Mooy and Ben Kantarovski will have the chance to be fast-tracked into the senior international set-up.

Though the opposition isn't top drawer, Verbeek found out the hard way when watching his A-League-based teams draw with Indonesia and Kuwait, and lose at home to the latter, that the standard of technique is eye-openingly high across Asia.

Originally published as Chance for A-League players