Kantarovski to captain Qantas Young Socceroos
Midfielder Ben Kantarovski has been named captain of the Qantas Young Socceroos for the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers which will be held in Bandung, Indonesia from 7-17 November 2009.
Speaking shortly after the final training session before the tournament, Ben was humbled by the honour of leading the Qantas Young Socceroos.
"It's a great honour and privilege to be named captain of the Qantas Young Socceroos," said Kantarovski.
"We have a great group of players and the atmosphere amongst the camp is fantastic.
"We just finished our training session at the match stadium and the boys are psyched and ready for our opening match.
"Our goal is to get off to a good start by getting a result against Hong Kong. Then we want to continue to build momentum throughout the tournament to give ourselves the best chance of qualifying for next year's (AFC U-19) Championship's and then eventually to qualify for the (FIFA U-20) World Cup which will be held in Colombia in 2011," concluded Kantarovski.
2009 has been a busy year for Ben Kantarovski who has recently nominated in the Young Performer of the Year Category in the 2009 Sports Performer Awards. Not only has Ben played for the Qantas Young Socceroos at the recent FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt, but he was also called into his first camp with the Qantas Socceroos, starred for the Newcastle Jets in their inaugural AFC Champions League campaign and all whilst studying for his HSC exams which he recently completed prior to departure for the tournament.
Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen said that the decision to choose Ben Kantarovski as the team captain was not a difficult one to make.
"If you look at Ben he is the player in the squad that has the most experience of all the players, in particular his time in the Hyundai A-League, the AFC Champions League and also at the recent FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.
"In fact, I can say that Ben was one of the most consistent players for us in Egypt recently.
"The other benefit is that Ben's playing position in the middle of the field gives him a great opportunity to lead the players and effect changes in the game.
"I'm very confident that Ben will be able to do a great job as team captain.
"In terms of the upcoming tournament, we will be looking to get points early on to try and secure qualification as soon as possible.
"Yesterday we played 11v11 at training which gave me an idea on where players are at the moment. I'll make the decision on a starting eleven overnight, but the good news is that all players are fit and ready to play," concluded Versleijen.
In other team news, Brisbane Roar's Josh McVey has been brought into the Qantas Young Socceroos squad for midfielder Mathew Leckie. Leckie sustained a hamstring strain playing for Adelaide United in their Hyundai A-League match against the Central Coast Mariners last weekend and is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks.
The Qantas Young Socceroos play their opening match of the AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers against Hong Kong on Saturday evening (9:00pm local, 1:00am AEDT).
The top two teams from the AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers will progress to the AFC U-19 Championship 2010 which will be held from 1-16 November. The host nation for the tournament will be determined later this month by the AFC Competitions Committee who are considering hosting bids from China, Thailand and Indonesia.
Qantas Young Socceroos Squad List AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers Bandung, Indonesia 7-17 November 2009
Eli Babalj AIS Mark Birighitti (gk) Adelaide United Daniel Bowles Brisbane Roar Youth Karem Bulut Sydney FC Youth Chris Bush AIS Kofi Danning Sydney FC Jason Davidson Pacos de Ferreira, Portugal Petar Franjic Melbourne Victory Youth Sam Gallagher Sydney FC Rhyan Grant Sydney FC Brendan Hamill AIS Benjamin Kantarovski Newcastle Jets Robbie Kolak (gk) Newcastle Jets Youth Jared Lum AIS Steven Lustica Gold Coast United Dylan McGowan Hearts FC, Scotland Josh McVey Brisbane Roar Youth Thomas Oar Brisbane Roar Dimitrios Petratos Sydney FC Youth Nikola Stanojevic AIS Kliment Taseski Melbourne Victory Youth Lawrence Thomas (gk) AIS James Virgili Newcastle Jets Youth
AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers Official Match Schedule - Group F
All matches will be played at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium, Bandung, Indonesia
7 November 2009 Indonesia v Singapore 3:00pm 7:00pm 7 November 2009 Japan v Chinese Taipei 6:00pm 10:00pm 7 November 2009 Australia v Hong Kong 9:00pm 1:00am 9 November 2009 Japan v Indonesia 3:00pm 7:00pm 9 November 2009 Singapore v Hong Kong 6:00pm 10:00pm 9 November 2009 Chinese Taipei v Australia 9:00pm 1:00am 12 November 2009 Chinese Taipei v Indonesia 3:00pm 7:00pm 12 November 2009 Australia v Singapore 6:00pm 10:00pm 12 November 2009 Hong Kong v Japan 9:00pm 1:00am 14 November 2009 Singapore v Japan 3:00pm 7:00pm 14 November 2009 Hong Kong v Chinese Taipei 6:00pm 10:00pm 14 November 2009 Indonesia v Australia 9:00pm 1:00am 17 November 2009 Australia v Japan 3:00pm 7:00pm 17 November 2009 Hong Kong v Indonesia 6:00pm 10:00pm 17 November 2009 Chinese Taipei v Singapore 9:00pm 1:00am