http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1023623/Versleijen-picks-strong-squad
Young Socceroos head coach Jan Versleijen has named five foreign-based players including winger Tommy Oar in a 23-member squad for the AFC Under-19 Championships in China next month, Football Federation Australia said.
The squad includes 18 Australia-based players and five from overseas clubs including Kerem Bulut (Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic), Jason Davidson (Pacos de Ferreira), Matthew Fletcher (Sunderland), Dylan McGowan (Hearts) and Oar (Utrecht).
Kofi Danning, Sam Gallagher, Rhyan Grant, Ben Kantarovski and Oar competed at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt last year and their experience is expected to be of great value for the current campaign.
With the top four teams from the AFC Under-19 titles qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Colombia next year, Versleijen is confident that the group of players that he has selected will be able to achieve their goals.
“It is always an honour and privilege to be selected in the national team for tournaments such as this one and the players and I are very excited about this upcoming period of their careers,” said Versleijen.
“Playing in tournament football gives our players much needed international experience against high-quality opposition and should we achieve our goal of qualifying for the World Cup we will face even stronger opponents in Colombia.
“Our preparations have been very good for this tournament with more players in the starting line-ups for their clubs which is very good for the national team and football in Australia.
“We have great competition for final selection in each position on the field and I am confident that with the players we have we will do well in China.”
The AFC Under-19 finals will be held in the host city of Zibo from October 3-17 October, 2010.
The Young Socceroos have been drawn in Group D of the competition with Yemen, Korea Republic and Iran.
They play their opening match against Yemen on October 4.
The squad will assemble in Sydney on Tuesday for a four-day training camp.
Australian squad: Matthew Acton (Brisbane Roar), Mustafa Amini (Central Coast Mariners), Terry Antonis (Sydney FC), Eli Babalj (Melbourne Heart), Mark Birighitti (Adelaide Utd), Daniel Bowles (Brisbane Roar), Kerem Bulut (Mlada Boleslav), Kofi Danning (Sydney FC), Jason Davidson (Pacos de Ferreira), Ryan Edwards (AIS), Matthew Fletcher (Sunderland), Sam Gallagher (Central Coast Mariners), Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC), Brendan Hamill (Melbourne Heart) Ben Kantarovski (Newcastle Jets), Mathew Leckie (Adelaide Utd), Steven Lustica (Gold Coast United), Dylan McGowan (Hearts), Tommy Oar (Utrecht) Alex Pearson (Perth Glory), Dimitrios Petratos (Sydney FC), Nikola Stanojevic (Central Coast Mariners), Marc Warren (Central Coast Mariners).
Young Socceroos head coach Jan Versleijen has named five foreign-based players including winger Tommy Oar in a 23-member squad for the AFC Under-19 Championships in China next month, Football Federation Australia said.
The squad includes 18 Australia-based players and five from overseas clubs including Kerem Bulut (Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic), Jason Davidson (Pacos de Ferreira), Matthew Fletcher (Sunderland), Dylan McGowan (Hearts) and Oar (Utrecht).
Kofi Danning, Sam Gallagher, Rhyan Grant, Ben Kantarovski and Oar competed at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt last year and their experience is expected to be of great value for the current campaign.
With the top four teams from the AFC Under-19 titles qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Colombia next year, Versleijen is confident that the group of players that he has selected will be able to achieve their goals.
“It is always an honour and privilege to be selected in the national team for tournaments such as this one and the players and I are very excited about this upcoming period of their careers,” said Versleijen.
“Playing in tournament football gives our players much needed international experience against high-quality opposition and should we achieve our goal of qualifying for the World Cup we will face even stronger opponents in Colombia.
“Our preparations have been very good for this tournament with more players in the starting line-ups for their clubs which is very good for the national team and football in Australia.
“We have great competition for final selection in each position on the field and I am confident that with the players we have we will do well in China.”
The AFC Under-19 finals will be held in the host city of Zibo from October 3-17 October, 2010.
The Young Socceroos have been drawn in Group D of the competition with Yemen, Korea Republic and Iran.
They play their opening match against Yemen on October 4.
The squad will assemble in Sydney on Tuesday for a four-day training camp.
Australian squad: Matthew Acton (Brisbane Roar), Mustafa Amini (Central Coast Mariners), Terry Antonis (Sydney FC), Eli Babalj (Melbourne Heart), Mark Birighitti (Adelaide Utd), Daniel Bowles (Brisbane Roar), Kerem Bulut (Mlada Boleslav), Kofi Danning (Sydney FC), Jason Davidson (Pacos de Ferreira), Ryan Edwards (AIS), Matthew Fletcher (Sunderland), Sam Gallagher (Central Coast Mariners), Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC), Brendan Hamill (Melbourne Heart) Ben Kantarovski (Newcastle Jets), Mathew Leckie (Adelaide Utd), Steven Lustica (Gold Coast United), Dylan McGowan (Hearts), Tommy Oar (Utrecht) Alex Pearson (Perth Glory), Dimitrios Petratos (Sydney FC), Nikola Stanojevic (Central Coast Mariners), Marc Warren (Central Coast Mariners).
