Three Sydney FC players have been included in the Young Socceroos 23-player squad for the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 3-7 October 2013.
Three Sydney FC players have been included in the Young Socceroos 23-player squad for the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 3-7 October 2013.
Young stars Hagi Gligor, Chris Naumoff and Josh MacDonald have all been selected by Head Coach Paul Okon.
The former Leeds, Lazio and Fiorentina midfielder has selected 16 Australian-based players from the Hyundai A-League clubs and the Australian Institute of Sport as well as 7 overseas-based players from England, Italy and Spain.
With the benefit of a number of tournaments and training camps together, Okon is optimistic about his team-s prospects.
“This will be the first time that we will have overseas-based and Australian-based groups of players together for the tournament,” said Okon
“This is the first formal step in the qualification campaign for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and our goal for this tournament is to top the group.
“The conditions in Malaysia will be tough, with high heat and humidity expected.
“For this reason, we have chosen to arrive in Kuala Lumpur early to acclimatize and prepare ourselves for the tournament,” concluded Okon.
The Young Socceroos will depart Australia this Friday and will line-up against Hong Kong in their first match of the tournament on Thursday 3 October. The Young Socceroos will then face Chinese Taipei (Saturday 5 October) and Vietnam (Monday 7 October).
The Group winners of the nine groups (five from West Zone and four from the East Zone) along with the six best-placed sides and hosts Myanmar will qualify for the AFC U-19 Championship which will be held in October 2014.
The AFC U-19 Championship also serve as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the top-four sides of the 2014 edition booking a place each in the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2015.
Young Socceroos Squad for AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers – 3 to 7 October 2013
Jake Adelson Everton FC, England
Jordan Brown Melbourne Victory, Australia
Christopher Cristaldo Melbourne Victory, Australia
Nicholas Cowburn Newcastle Jets, Australia
Callum Elder Leicester City, England
Daniel De Silva Perth Glory, Australia
Ben Garuccio Melbourne Heart, Australia
Christopher Ikonimidis SS Lazio, Italy
Rafael Jimenez Villarreal CF, Spain
Anthony Kalik AIS, Australia
Scott Galloway Melbourne Victory, Australia
Hagi Gligor Sydney FC, Australia
Jordan Lyden Aston Villa, England
Stefan Mauk Melbourne Heart, Australia
Thomas Manos (gk) Western Sydney Wanderers, Australia
Joshua McDonald Sydney FC, Australia
Christopher Naumoff Sydney FC, Australia
Danijel Nizic (gk) Burnley FC, England
Nicholas Olsen Western Sydney Wanderers, Australia
Mitchell Oxborrow Newcastle Jets, Australia
Luke Radonich (gk) Melbourne Victory, Australia
Peter Skapetis QPR, England
Benjamin Warland AIS, Australia
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