Sydney FC youngster Dimitros Petratos has the Olympics in his sights after winning his first call up to the Qantas Australian Under 23s.
Sydney FC youngster Dimitros Petratos has the Olympics in his sights after winning his first call up to the Qantas Australian Under 23s.
The midfielder joins team mates Rhyan Grant and Sebastian Ryall in the squad to play Olympic qualifiers against Iraq and Uzbekistan this month.
The trio will head to Doha to take on Iraq on Tuesday 22nd November before returning to face Uzbekistan at Parramatta Stadium five days later.
Coach Tony Vidmar knows the importance of these upcoming two matches in qualification process.
“After drawing our opening match against the UAE we need to get a good result from these two matches to give us the best possible chance of qualifying for the Olympics.
“With injuries to a number of players we have used in the previous matches, we-ve selected a few new faces following our recent training camp in Sydney.
“It will be up to these players to take their opportunity and step up to the challenge ahead.
“We will have a short camp together in Qatar before the Iraq match to work on things and I-m confident that the boys are up to it,” concluded Vidmar
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 at a centralised venue from March 25 to 29, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of CAF (Africa) for a berth in the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Qantas Australian U-23s Squad List
AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games vs Iraq and Uzbekistan – November 2011
Name Club
Aziz Behich Melbourne Heart
Mark Birighitti (gk) Adelaide United
Oliver Bozanic Central Coast Mariners
James Brown Gold Coast United
Kofi Danning Brisbane Roar
Mate Dugandzic Melbourne Heart
Matthew Foschini Melbourne Victory
Rhyan Grant Sydney FC
Jason Hoffman Melbourne Heart
Marko Jesic Newcastle Jets
Matthew Jurman Brisbane Roar
Brad McDonald Central Coast Mariners
Dylan McGowan Gold Coast United
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
