Melbourne Victory NPL/NYL midfielder Josh Hope has been selected in a 23-man Young Socceroos squad for this month’s AFF U-19 Championship in Vietnam.
Hope, 18, made a senior appearance for Victory when he came off the bench in the club’s International Champions Cup match against Juventus at the MCG in July.
The Australia under-20 team leaves for Vietnam on Tuesday and will play matches against Cambodia (September 12), Myanmar (September 14), Indonesia (September 16), Thailand (September 18) and Laos (September 20).
The Young Socceroos will also take part in the AFC U-19 Championship next month in Bahrain, where they face China PR, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the group stage of the 16-team tournament.
The top four countries (excluding Korea Republic) will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be played in Korea Republic.
Meanwhile, Football Federation Australia has apppointed Ufuk Talay as Head Coach of the Young Socceroos.
Talay replaces Paul Okon, who has joined Central Coast Mariners as Head Coach.
“This is a huge honour for me to be named coach of the Australian under-20 team,” Talay said.
“It’s a step forward and I look forward to working with the players to play the type of football our national teams have been playing and qualify for the U-20 World Cup.”
Young Socceroos squad for the AFF U-19 Championship: Keanu BACCUS (Western Sydney Wanderers), Jackson BANDIERA (Western Sydney Wanderers), George BLACKWOOD (Sydney FC), Joseph CHAMPNESS (Brisbane Roar), Patrick FLOTTMANN (Sydney FC), Josh HOPE (Melbourne Victory), Jasmin KERANOVIC (West Bromwich Albion, England), Steve KUZMANOVSKI (Melbourne City), Tariq MAIA (Western Sydney Wanderers), Daniel MARGUSH (Adelaide United), George MELLS (Adelaide United), William MUTCH (Sydney FC), Connor O’TOOLE (Brisbane Roar), Liam ROSE (Central Coast Mariners), Dejan PANDUREVIC (Manly United), Jayden PRASAD (Brisbane Roar), Kye ROWLES (Brisbane Roar), Lachlan SCOTT (Western Sydney Wanderers), Mario SHABOW (Western Sydney Wanderers), Yaren SOZER (Melbourne City), George TIMOTHEOU (Sydney FC), Brandon VELLA (Marconi Stallions), Liam YOULLEY (Western Sydney Wanderers)
