Soccer-Profile on Australia team for 2015 Asian Cup

SYDNEY, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Factbox on Asian Cup qualifiers Australia: Asian Cup record: Previous appearances in finals: (2) 2007, 2011. Best performance: Runners up (2011) Drawn in Group A with South Korea, Kuwait and Oman. - - - Coach: Ange Postecoglou Greek-born but Australian through-and-through, Postecoglou has earned a reputation over the last 18 years for rebuilding teams and getting them to play in an adventurous, attacking style. The Brisbane Roar squad he overhauled won successive A-League titles in 2011 and 2012 and the 49-year-old had started a similar project at Melbourne Victory before he was lured to the Socceroos. Replaced German technocrat Holger Osieck in October 2013 and embarked on a mission to rejuvenate the ageing Socceroos squad, earning plaudits, but no points, with some lively displays at the World Cup in Brazil. - - - Key player: Tim Cahill. Age: 35. Midfielder. Australia's totem, Cahill never had much pace to lose so his effectiveness looks undiminished by age. Always an aerial threat despite his modest height, the New York Red Bulls midfielder still manages to escape his markers and get above much taller defenders. His country's all-time top scorer with 36 international goals, the former Everton player has contributed eight of the 12 goals the Socceroos have scored since Postecoglou took over in 2013. - - - FIFA world ranking Dec. 2014: 100 How they qualified: Hosts Squad: Goalkeepers - Mathew Ryan (Club Bruges), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United) Defenders - Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Trent Sainsbury (PEC Zwolle), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Chris Herd (Aston Villa), Izaz Behich (Bursaspor), Jason Davidson (West Bromwich Albion), Ivan Franjic (Torpedo Moscow). Midfielders - Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa), Tommy Oar (Utrecht), Massimo Luongo (Swindon), Terry Antonis (Sydney FC), James Troisi (Zulte Waregem), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar) Forwards - Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Matthew Leckie (FC Ingolstadt), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen), Tomi Juric (Western Sydney Wanderers), Nathan Burns (Wellington Phoenix) (Compiled by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by John O'Brien)