Socceroos Power Rankings: who sits where with Asian Cup squad on the horizon The incumbent XI. The next Australian squad announced will be the group tasked with bringing Asian Cup glory to Australia on home soil. Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou has a few more weeks to run the rule over fringe players home and abroad as he tinkers with his final combination and we'll monitor the candidates in our Power Rankings: Road To The Asian Cup series, over the coming weeks. Here's the first edition. The top three is undisputed. Listen to the Fox Football Podcast with Adam Peacock, Simon Hill, Michael Cockerill and Daniel Garb for a full analysis of the state of the Socceroos. You can likely draw a line after player No.5 when it comes to certainties to be in the first XI come January 9 against Kuwait, with Tim Cahill, Mile Jedinak, Mark Bresciano, Mat Ryan and, fitness permitting, Mathew Spiranovic, the key cogs in the side's spine. From there, positions six through to 18 look just about locked in for squad spots in January, but it's a cluttered list of names in terms of who will pip who for positions in the XI. Sydney FC player Terry Antonis. Mathew Leckie has done enough to suggest he'll start, but fans would love to see him turn his immense promise into cutting edge decision-making. He's likely vying with Robbie Kruse, James Troisi and Tommy Oar for those attacking roles supporting and supplying Cahill. Centrally, there's plenty of hype over Massimo Luongo and Terry Antonis. But if those two get picked, and you can assume Matt McKay and Mark Milligan will be there too, it means Oliver Bozanic, James Holland, Aaron Mooy, Mitch Nichols and co are up against it to squeeze in. Fox Sports looks back at Ange Postecoglou's first year in charge of the Socceroos. Aziz Behich has thrown a spanner in the works with his emergence as the favourite for the left-back berth. He rockets up to No.14 on our list. Trent Sainsbury has also jumped markedly on the list after a couple of promising sightings in green and gold. If Spiranovic is fit, does Sainsbury's ball playing ability nudge him ahead of Wilkinson's experience to partner the Wanderers centre-back? Nikolai Topor-Stanley's inclusion sees him very high on the list. Could there be a temptation to pair Spiranovic with his Western Sydney skipper in the heart of defence? Lack of game time will cost at least a couple in the group of Brad Smith, Davidson, Josh Brillante and Chris Herd. If they were playing regularly and in form, they're the type of players Postecoglou would lock into his list. But they're not and with Behich emerging and Ivan Franjic on the road to full fitness, a couple will be squeezed out. Brillante, at Serie A club Fiorentina, may be rewarded for his versatility. Others appearing on the list who can push for a berth with continued A-League form include Tomi Juric, Nathan Burns, Alex Brosque, Osama Malik and Mitch Nichols. Burns's lively attacking talents could see him offer something different to a squad that has laboured in an attacking sense in recent matches, while if there's doubts on the goal supply, Brosque has started in decent touch for Sydney FC in his return to the A-League. Malik is one from left field, but the cultured defender possesses traits that Postecoglou admires and is a smokey - certainly one worth mentioning. Plenty want to see Juric there - it's up to him now to start banging them in consistently. Nathan Burns is back on the radar. Mark Bosnich wants a phone call put out to Brett Holman. The Middle East-based attacking player saw the writing on the wall ahead of the World Cup and jumped before he thought he might be pushed. Should Postecoglou try lure him back? It'd be wonderful to see Jamie MacLaren continue to score goals for Perth, with the striker netting the winner against South Korea during the week. He has showed some exciting touches so far this season and with the search on for a future striker, he could be mentioned here more in the future. Aurelio Vidmar ran the rule over the Olyroos in China this week, with the likes of Mustafa Amini and Jack Duncan impressing. Riley Woodcock and Scott Galloway provide interesting alternatives in full-back positions; Cameron Burgess has been making a good first of life at Fulham, while those playing overseas like Jackson Irvine (Ross County, Scotland), Giancarlo Gallifuoco (Swansea under-21s), Ryan Edwards (Reading) and Kwame Yeboah (Borussia Monchengladbach reserves) are interesting propositions. Corey Gameiro was being whispered as a genuine bolter if he could maintain his Sydney FC scoring form, but the talented striker has suffered a devastating blow, ruled out for the season with an ACL injury suffered on Olyroos duty. Frustrating injuries also look to scupper any hope for the likes of Tom Rogic, Josh Kennedy, Curtis Good, Adam Taggart and Rhys Williams - all players you would've expected to see in the squad if they were fit. Bruce Djite was mentioned in despatches, but his recent injury puts a pen through any hope there. Originally published as Race heats up: Socceroos Power Rankings