Reprieved Milligan named in Olyroos

Olyroos skipper Mark Milligan has been named in Graham Arnold's 21-man squad for this month's pre-Olympic tournament in Malaysia after having his ban reduced for skipping a Townsville training camp.

Milligan had his tournament ban reduced to two matches after Arnold and Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek accepted his apology for opting to forgo the recent camp in favour of trialling in England.

Australia's campaign in the inaugural eight-team tournament, known as the Intercontinental Cup, begins on Friday against Croatia, before group matches against Chile and Ghana.

Milligan will be available for the Ghana match on May 20 and beyond, should the Olyroos progress to the semi-finals.

Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic, who had a nine-month ban for striking a referee reduced to allow him to play in the Olympics, is not eligible for the Olyroos until June 24.

His absence opens the door for teenage prodigy Dean Bouzanis to impress.

The 17-year-old, who is signed to English giants Liverpool, has never played for the Australian under-23 side.

Bouzanis grew up in Sydney but has Greek parents and his international allegiance has been questioned in the past.

He is a dual citizen and has represented the Olyroos at under-17 level and Greece at under-19 level, and was approached by Greek footballing authorities to discuss his senior future.

On a recent trip to Europe to check in on Australia's overseas-based players, Verbeek spoke to Bouzanis and was left convinced the youngster would one day play for the Socceroos.

Bouzanis is not restricted to one country until he represents a national senior team.

Arnold has also named Perth Glory custodian Tando Velaphi, who impressed in the Olyroos' 1-1 draw with Mexico in March, so the goalkeeping spot is sure to be hotly contested.

Arnold said the tournament, running from May 15-25 in Kuala Lumpur, formed a crucial part of preparations for the Olympic Games and stressed no player had secured their spot for Beijing.

"After training in Townsville for the past week, it is now important for the players to prove themselves in competitive match situations and the Intercontinental Cup is the ideal event for that purpose," said Arnold.

"This tournament will provide us with between three to five matches under the similar conditions that we will face in China.

"At the moment, no player is guaranteed a place at the Olympics, so this tournament is also a great opportunity for these players to make their case for inclusion in the final squad."

Olyroos squad: Nigel Boogaard (Central Coast Mariners), Dean Bouzanis (Liverpool FC, England), Mark Bridge (Sydney FC), Adam D'Apuzzo (Newcastle Jets), Spase Dilevski (Universitatae Craiova, Romania), Aaron Downes (Chesterfield, England), Tarek Elrich (Newcastle Jets), Troy Hearfield (Wellington Phoenix), Jason Hoffman (Newcastle Jets), James Holland (Newcastle Jets), Adrian Leijer (Fulham, England), Trent McClenahan (Hereford United, England), Mark Milligan (Uncontracted), Stuart Musialik (Sydney FC), Nikita Rukavysta (Perth Glory), Matt Simon (Central Coast Mariners), Nikolai Topor-Stanley (Perth Glory), James Troisi (Uncontracted), Tando Velaphi (Perth Glory), Ruben Zadkovich (Derby County- England), Michael Zullo (Queensland Roar).