Melbourne Victory quartet Nick Ansell, Jason Geria, Scott Galloway and Connor Pain are off to Europe, with Qantas Young Socceroos coach Paul Okon including them in his 26-man squad.
Melbourne Victory quartet Nick Ansell, Jason Geria, Scott Galloway and Connor Pain are off to Europe, with Qantas Young Socceroos coach Paul Okon including them in his 26-man squad.
The European training camp will run from 19-31 May and will include international friendly matches against the Netherlands U-21 Men-s Team (Friday 24 May) and the German U-21 Men-s National Team (Friday 31 May).
The Qantas Young Socceroos squad includes seven (7) players from overseas clubs with the remaining 19 drawn from Hyundai A-League clubs.
Okon will be using this European training camp as his final look at the players before naming his squad for the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 (21 June – 12 July 2013).
“Our recent training camps in Australia have been extremely beneficial for our preparations, especially the last two weeks when we have been able to train with the older national team players,” Okon said.
“The experience of working with the older players has given us a good indication of where we are at and what we need to do to perform at a high level.
“I am really pleased with the progress that we have made and the high standards we have now set.
“For this European tour we have merged the overseas and domestic players together and we will be looking to improve even more.
“We have two tough matches against quality opposition who are both preparing for the UEFA U-21 Championships which begin next month in Israel so we know we are in for a good challenge will need to be focused to play them at their level.
“From these matches we will get a good indication on what is required to be competitive at the FIFAU-20 World Cup.
“This will be the last chance for the players to stake their claim for a position in the final squad which we will announce in early June.”
Qantas Young Socceroos Squad – European Tour – 19 to 31 May 2013
Mustafa Amini, Borussia Dortmund, Germany
Nicholas Ansell, Melbourne Victory
Terry Antonis, Sydney FC
Anthony Bouzanis (gk), Sydney FC
Joshua Brillante, Newcastle Jets
Reece Caira, Western Sydney Wanderers
Connor Chapman, Newcastle Jets
Travis Cooper, VVV Venlo, Netherlands
Daniel De Silva, Perth Glory
James Donachie, Brisbane Roar
Jack Duncan (gk), Perth Glory
Ryan Edwards, Reading FC, England
Scott Galloway, Melbourne Victory
Ben Garuccio, Melbourne Heart
Jason Geria, Melbourne Victory
Curtis Good, Newcastle United, England
Hagi Gligor, Sydney FC
Andrew Hoole, Newcastle Jets
Jackson Irvine, Celtic FC, Scotland
Paul Izzo (gk), Adelaide United
Jamie Maclaren, Blackburn Rovers, England
Connor Pain, Melbourne Victory
Adam Taggart, Newcastle Jets
David Vrankovic, Melbourne Heart
Jeremy Walker, Melbourne Heart
Ryan Williams, Fulham FC, England
(As at Friday 17 May 2013)
Match Details
Netherlands U-20 Men-s Team v Qantas Young Socceroos
Friday 24 May 2013
Univé Stadium, Emmen, Netherlands
Kick-Off 6:30pm (2:00am AEST)
Germany U-20 Men-s Team v Qantas Young Socceroos
Friday 31 May 2013
Venue TBA
Kick-Off 10:00am (6:00pm AEST)
