The Socceroos kept their World Cup dream alive with that come from behind win against Iraq last week, and now national team coach Holger Osieck has the perfect opportunity to experiment when his side takes on South Korea in a friendly in November.

Australia has one of the oldest squads in international football with a handful of players having reached the status of ten-year veterans.

Should veterans Archie Thompson and Tim Cahill, recent saviours of the national team, play friendlies? Credit:Getty Images

As the team has struggled more than expected in this qualifying phase — especially in a shock loss to Jordan — the German coach has come in for criticism for his alleged inflexibility and reluctance to rely on any others expect the old guard.

It's not an easy square to circle. Osieck has to rebuild the team, but also make sure he gets it to Brazil. It is human nature to rely on players who have done the job before, but he has left himself with little scope for change if things don’t work out, as they threatened not to before the Iraq victory.