The Goan Network
Panaji
Australia, who aspire to qualify for the next FIFA U-17 World Cup, have announced a 23-man squad to represent the nation at the AFC U-16 Championships which kick off in Goa on September 15.
The semi-finalists of the AFC U-16 Championship, beginning on September 15, 2016, will go on to qualify for next year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup which will also be held in India.
The squad, selected by Joeys head coach Tony Vidmar, is made up of 15 players based at the FFA (Football Federation Australia) Centre of Excellence, six players from A-League clubs, and two from National Premier Leagues clubs.
Eighteen of the 23 players selected were part of the squad that won the 2016 AFF (ASEAN) U-16 Championship last month.
With that experience behind the Joeys, Vidmar said there was no reason his side could not go on and win the AFC U-16 Championship.
“In terms of what we want to achieve, of course we want to qualify, but that’s not enough,” Vidmar said in a media release.
“We haven’t won an AFC Championship at the youth levels yet, so let’s do it now.”
During the group stage of the 2016 AFF U-16 Championship, the Joeys placed second in their group with three wins, a draw, and a loss which was enough to progress to the knockout stage.
The knockout stage saw the Australians take home the title after two wins on penalties against Thailand and Vietnam.
It is the character shown by the Joeys that proves to Vidmar that this side is a potential title-winning side.
“This team has already proven its ability to win big games,” Vidmar said.
"In the final of the U-16 AFF Championships, we were down 3-1 with 10 minutes to go, but we kept doing our jobs.
“We didn’t get frustrated, we didn’t panic. We believed in the game plan, in what we’re doing, and went on to score twice to take the game to penalties.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of taking on the best in Asia; as always we will not make any compromises in the way we pay."
The Joeys kick off their AFC U-16 Championship campaign against Kyrgyzstan on Friday 16 September, before their second match against Vietnam on Monday 19 September. The final match of the group stage will be on Thursday 22 September against Japan.
Joeys squad:
Nicholas SUMAN
James FLETCHER
Dylan PIERIAS
Kaleb COX
Joel KING
Adrian VIGGIANI
Jacob ITALIANO
Ramy NAJJARINE
John ROBERTS
Lachlan BROOK
Mirza MURATOVIC
Jordan GRIFFITHS
Thomas AQUILINA
Rahmat AKBARI
Patrick SCIBILIO
Ben OBST
Louis D'ARRIGO
Jackson LEE
Mark MORIC
Bryce BAFFORD
Adrian VALENTI
Jaidon SELDEN
Fabian MONGE
