Football
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Australia to test debutants Jamie Maclaren, Stefan Mauk vs. England

Ange Postecoglou expects the intense pressure of facing a pre-tournament England in their friendly at Sunderland's Stadium of Light later this month will unearth some new Socceroos stars.

Postecoglou has included a whopping 10 players with six caps or less, and among them four debutants, in a depleted 23-man squad for the clash on May 27.

Asian-based players are unavailable for selection as the date falls outside of an international window.

A-League stars Jamie Maclaren, Stefan Mauk and Craig Goodwin will be thrown into the deep end against Roy Hodgson's England outfit, which will be in full Euro 2016 preparation mode.

"We've found for a lot of players, exposing them to that level has held them in good stead for what's ahead," Postecoglou said on Wednesday.

"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."

It will be Australia's first meeting with England since Tony Popovic, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton all scored in a famous 3-1 win at Upton Park in 2003.

Wayne Rooney made his international debut off the bench in that game, but the English side takes on a completely new look these days, with Leicester City sensation Jamie Vardy and Tottenham star Harry Kane set to provide an inexperienced Australian defence with a huge test.

Sydney FC recruit Alex Wilkinson and Preston North End's Bailey Wright will likely partner in the centre of defence in the absence of China-based stoppers Matthew Spiranovic and Trent Sainsbury.

Maclaren, who scored 20 times for Brisbane Roar this season, is a good chance to start up front with no Tim Cahill or Apostolos Giannou in the mix, while Adelaide United's Mauk and former teammate Goodwin, who this week signed for newly-promoted Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam, have been rewarded for strong performances in the finals series.

The other debutants are Adelaide-born Brad Inman, who plays for English League Two side Crewe Alexandria, and Milos Degenek, a midfielder for 1860 Munich who Postecoglou said he is keen to test at centre-back.

The majority of the players will gather in Newcastle on May 23, with a separate squad to be announced next week for June's friendly series against Greece.

FULL SQUAD: Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Adam Federici, Craig Goodwin, Chris Ikonomidis, Jackson Irvine, Brad Inman, Mile Jedinak, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mitchell Langerak, Massimo Luongo, Jamie Maclaren, Stefan Mauk, Matthew McKay, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Josh Risdon, Tom Rogic, Mathew Ryan, Brad Smith, Bailey Wright, Alex Wilkinson.

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