Qantas Young Socceroos AFC Squad Selected
Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen has selected a squad of 23 players for the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers which will be held in Bandung, Indonesia from 7-17 November 2009.
Included are Kofi Danning, Sam Gallagher, Rhyan Grant, Ben Kantarovski and Tom Oar who were part of the Qantas Young Socceroos squad that recently participated at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt, whilst Mark Birighitti, Dylan McGowan and James Virgili were named in the Qantas Young Socceroos preliminary squad for tournament but missed out on final selection.
The bulk of the players selected formed the Qantas Next Young Socceroos squad that were runners-up at the recent AFF U19 Youth Championship in Vietnam. Karem Bulut, Chris Bush, Robbie Kolak, Dimitrios Petratos, Nikola Stanojevic and Lawrence Thomas did not make the trip to Ho Chi Minh City but have been selected in the current squad.
Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen knows how challenging the qualification tournament will be, but is confident that the squad of players that he has selected will be able to make it to next year-s championships.
“We will have a tough task ahead of us at this tournament in particular against teams such as Japan and Indonesia who are always improving.
“A number of our players were involved at the recent FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt and the experience gained by them will be of great benefit to our campaign in Indonesia.
“We also have a variety of players, over a range of ages, within the group with some already playing in the Hyundai A-League, others in the National Youth League & AIS system, and a couple of players also playing overseas which brings different qualities to the selection.
“With all things considered, I am confident that the players that have been selected will be able to do the job of qualifying for next year-s AFC U-19 Championship,” concluded Versleijen.
The Qantas Young Socceroos will assemble for a short training camp in Sydney on Monday 2 November and will depart Australia for Indonesia on Wednesday 4 November to prepare for their opening match of the tournament against Hong Kong on Saturday 7 November.
The top two teams from the 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 in November 2009 with the AFC Competitions Committee to choose between bids from China, Thailand and Indonesia.
Qantas Young Socceroos Squad List AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers Bandung, Indonesia 7-17 November 2009
Player Club, Country 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 Benjamin Kantarovski Newcastle Jets Robbie Kolak (gk) Newcastle Jets Youth Matthew Leckie Adelaide United Jared Lum AIS Steven Lustica Gold Coast United Dylan McGowan Hearts FC, Scotland Thomas Oar Brisbane Roar Dimitrios Petratos Sydney FC Youth Trent Sainsbury AIS 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
Date Match Kick-Off Local (WIB) Kick-Off AEDT 7 November 2009 Australia v Hong Kong 3:00pm 7:00pm 7 November 2009 Japan v Chinese Taipei 6:00pm 10:00pm 7 November 2009 Indonesia v Singapore 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