Sydney FC midfielder Terry Antonis is out of the Qantas Australian Under 23s squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games.
Sydney FC midfielder Terry Antonis is out of the Qantas Australian Under 23s squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games.
The 18 year old failed a fitness test on his injured hamstring today and will miss the third round matches against Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Antonis was tested under the supervision of FFA-s Head of Medical Services, Dr Jeff Steinweg, the Sydney FC team doctor, Dr Andrew McDonald, and Sydney FC physiotherapist, Stan Ivancic.
Unfortunately for Terry he was unable to satisfactorily complete the tasks required and as a result was ruled out of the upcoming two matches.
It-s a blow for Antonis but he is confident the team can do the job away from home.
“I-m disappointed that I won-t be able to represent Australia in these games,” Antonis said this morning.
“I love playing for my country and was really looking forward to playing in these two important matches.
“I-m sure the boys will be able to get the job done and I wish Aurelio and the team good luck,” concluded Antonis.
Antonis will be replaced by Central Coast midfielder Mustafa Amini, who joins Sydney FC-s Seb Ryall and Dimitri Petratos in the 20 man squad.
They leave Australia on 29th January for a pre-match camp in the UAE before heading to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan at the JAR Stadium on Sunday 5 February (Kick-off 8:00pm local (2:00am AEDT.
The Qantas Australian U23s will then return to the UAE for a training camp to prepare for their next qualification match against the UAE at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday 22 February (Kick-Off 5:30pm local (00:30am AEDT).
The training camp will also include a friendly match against the Philippines senior national team at the Zabeel Stadium, Dubai on Thursday 16 February (Kick-off 7:30pm local (02:30am AEDT).
The teams in each group of the third round of qualifying play in a home-and-away format from 21 September 2011, to 14 March 14, 2012, with the winner of each group directly qualifying for the London 2012 Olympic Games Football competition.
The three second-placed teams from the third round will clash in a playoff in Vietnam from 25 to 29 March, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of CAF (Africa) in a play-off match on 12 April 2012 at the City of Coventry Stadium in England for a berth in the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Qantas Australian U-23s Squad List
AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – Round 3
V Uzbekistan and UAE – February 2012
Name Club
Mustafa AMINI Central Coast Mariners
Aziz BEHICH Melbourne Heart
Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk) Adelaide United
Oliver BOZANIC Central Coast Mariners
Kerem BULUT FK Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
Isaka CERNAK Melbourne Victory
Mate DUGANDZIC Melbourne Heart
Diogo FERREIRA Melbourne Victory
Matthew FOSCHINI Melbourne Victory
Antony GOLEC Adelaide United
Jason HOFFMAN Melbourne Heart
Matthew JURMAN Brisbane Roar
Ben KANTAROVSKI Newcastle Jets
Daniel MULLEN Adelaide United
Mitch NICHOLS Brisbane Roar
Dimitrios PETRATOS Sydney FC
Sebastian RYALL Sydney FC
Mathew RYAN (gk) Central Coast Mariners
Adam TAGGART Perth Glory
Rocco VISCONTE Brisbane Roar
Team P W D L F A GD Pts
UZBEKISTAN 3 1 2 0 2 0 2 5
IRAQ 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
AUSTRALIA 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 3
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 3 0 2 1 0 2 -2 2
