Schwarzer exit overshadows new-look Socceroos

Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has retired from international football. The Chelsea goalkeeper told Football Federation Australia of his decision just hours before new coach Ange Postecoglou confirmed his first Socceroos squad. The 41-year-old was overlooked for Australia's recent friendlies against France and Canada, given his continued lack of game time for Chelsea, where he is the back-up to Petr Cech. It appears emerging 25-year-old Mitch Langerak is now the favourite to succeed Schwarzer as Australia's first-choice in goal with the Dortmund shot-stopper featuring in both those games. Schwarzer is Australia's most-capped player with 109 appearances for the Socceroos since his debut in 1993. His departure is the first major change to the Socceroos team since Holger Osieck's sacking last month. Several other high-profile names are missing from Postecoglou's 22-man squad for the 19 November friendly against Costa Rica. Luke Wilshere, David Carney and Sasa Ognenovski are omitted, along with the likes of Jackson Irvine, Nikita Rukavytsya and Brett Holman. Incumbent captain Lucas Neill, 35, is included, but no skipper has yet been named. Postecoglou said he intends to offer the players who helped the Socceroos book a ticket to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ a chance to prove they still deserve a place in the national team set-up. "The first task is to have a good look at the bulk of the players who played a significant part in qualifying Australia for the 2014 World Cup and also giving opportunities to players I think have the ability to improve the team," he said. "I want to give every Australian player the best opportunity to stake a claim for Brazil and beyond." Australia squad Goalkeepers: Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund/Germany), Mat Ryan (Club Brugge/Belgium) Defenders Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo/Netherlands), Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng/China PR), Lucas Neill (Omiya Ardija/Japan), Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough/England), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai/Korea Republic), Michael Zullo (Adelaide United) Midfielders Oliver Bozanic (Luzern/Switzerland), Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa/Qatar), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), James Holland (Austria Vienna/Austria), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace/England), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Tom Rogic (Celtic/Scotland), Dario Vidosic (Sion/Switzerland) Forwards Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls/USA), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus/Japan), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen/Germany), Mathew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt/Germany), Tommy Oar (FC Utrecht/Netherlands) Source: FIFA.com