Departing Brisbane Roar winger Tommy Oar has one foot on the plane to South Africa after being selected in Pim Verbeek’s provisional 31 man Qantas Socceroos squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
On hand at the squad-s unveiling at the Qantas Jet Base in Sydney, the 18 year-old watched on as Verbeek announced the most anticipated squad list of his tenure as Qantas Socceroos coach.
Joining the likes of national team regulars Lucas Neil, Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell, Oar will now be fighting hard to gain a spot in Verbeek-s final 23-man squad.
And if Oar can manage to nab a golden ticket to South Africa, he will become the youngest Qantas Socceroo to play in a FIFA World Cup.
Despite an admirer of Oar-s mazy runs and crossing ability from the left wing, Verbeek said the speedster still had to prove himself to be a ‘great player-.
“(Oar) got an opportunity from Brisbane Roar to play and develop and I think it’s great for Australian football that we have a player like him,
“You don’t get many left-footed players with his qualities … and we all remember the game against Indonesia.
“But he still has to show that he is not only a talent, but he is also a great player.”
Oar became one of the youngest players to don the green and gold jersey earlier this year against Indonesia – his sole cap to date.
The 31-man Qantas Socceroos squad will be culled to the final 23 by June 1.
