Galekovic Replaces Injured Federici

Adelaide United keeper Eugene Galekovic will replace Adam Federici in Australia’s 22 man squad for Wenesday night’s clash with Japan after the Reading youngster injured his back in their 0-0 draw against Preston over the weekend.

It’s been a good couple of weeks for Galekovic, who kept a cleansheet in his international debut against Indonesia in late January, and last week he was named the A-League’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

However, despite the accolades and his current good form, he is not expected to feature in the Japan clash. First choice keeper Mark Schwarzer is rightfully immovable from the starting eleven, and the more experienced Michael Petkovic is expected to be named as the reserve.

It’ll be interesting to see if this causes a club versus country row, as I’m sure United coach Aurelio Vidmar will not be happy that his star player is away in the middle of the two legged finals series against Melbourne, especially if he is not even expected to play in Japan. Either way, it should still be good experience for Galekovic, plus it’ll give him a shot of confidence.