No doubt Graham Arnold himself has been grappling with this same question for many months before finally settling on his final list.
On the face of it, there are few genuine surprises – but there are a handful in a squad containing 10 players with five caps or less, and 17 heading to their first FIFA World Cup.
It’s not often the reserve goalkeeper is a major talking point, but the omission of Mitch Langerak was a shock.
The 34-year-old was player of the season for Nagoya Grampus in Japan and was recently tempted out of international retirement, ostensibly to challenge incumbent number 1 Mat Ryan.
Indeed, many observers thought the gloves were up for grabs – clearly Arnold and goalkeeping coach John Crawley were not of the same opinion.
It does beg the question, what will happen if injury or illness prevents Ryan taking the field, with only 37-year-old Danny Vukovic (four caps) and penalty shootout hero Andrew Redmayne (four caps) as back-up.
Neither comes close to Langerak, who kept 14 clean sheets in 33 J-League matches in the season just finished.
The overall balance of the squad is a problem for Arnold.
While he has numbers in defence – nine in all - few come into the tournament fully fit or with many matches under their belts.
Source: SBS
Nathaniel Atkinson has also been injured, while Bailey Wright’s return to the Sunderland team is recent, but has come in the nick of time.
Fran Karacic, at least, is playing regularly in Italy, but who will line up in the defence to face France is one of Arnold’s biggest dilemmas.
In front of the defence there are similar concerns.
There are only six bona fide midfielders in the squad, and while midfield mainstays Aaron Mooy and Jackson Irvine are fit, Ajdin Hrustic has been injured, and Riley McGree, Cameron Devlin and Keanu Baccus have only 13 caps between them – 11 of those are McGree’s.
Arnold has, unsurprisingly, gone for a top heavy squad and on paper, this is where the Socceroos strength lies.
In Jamie Maclaren, there is an in-form centre forward, even if his undoubted accuracy hasn’t yet translated to national team level – likewise Jason Cummings, who has impressed at the Central Coast Mariners and is preferred to the unlucky Adam Taggart.
Mitchell Duke is an Arnold favourite and does exactly what he says on the tin, while there’s pace and excitement in the wide areas with Mathew Leckie, Martin Boyle, Awer Mabil, and Craig Goodwin.
But the name that stands out is undoubtedly Garang Kuol.
He’s only played 12 matches at club level for the Mariners and one for the Socceroos – and in each of those he’s proven himself to be a player of serious substance.
Kuol is the bolter, yet at the same time he may genuinely carry the biggest weight of expectation in Qatar.
The 18-year-old can score and create, and with defence a concern, it could well be Australia’s best hope lies with the player we’ve seen least of all.
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