Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Paul Okon has selected a 23-player squad for the upcoming two international friendly matches against the the Portugal U-20 Men’s National team in Lisbon on the 11 & 14 October 2012.
Ten overseas based players from England, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland have been included in the squad with twelve drawn from the ranks of the Hyundai A-League Clubs as well as Luke O’Dea from Bentleigh Greens in the Victorian Premier League.
Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Paul Okon will be using these matches as another important part of his squad’s preparations for the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship which will be held in the United Arab Emirates from 1-17 November 2012.
“As this camp is held during FIFA match dates, this will be the first time that the overseas-based players will join the core of our squad in the lead up to the AFC U-19 Championship,” said Okon.
“Even though there are some Australian-based players not selected in this particular squad they are certainly not out of contention for final selection, because we are using this camp will be to see how these overseas based players adapt to our playing style and fit into the group.
“We will also be looking to maximize our training time together and the games against Portugal will give us a good indication of how well the overseas-based players can gel in a short period of time,” concluded Okon.
Qantas Young Socceroos Squad – Portugal – October 2012
Name
Club, Country
Mustafa AMINI
Borussia Dortmund, Germany
Terry ANTONIS
Sydney FC
Alex BAIRD (gk)
Dundee FC, Scotland
Joshua BRILLANTE
Newcastle Jets
Corey BROWN
Brisbane Roar
Reece CAIRA
Western Sydney Wanderers
Connor CHAPMAN
Newcastle Jets
Travis COOPER
VVV Venlo, Netherlands
Ryan EDWARDS
Reading FC, England
Corey GAMEIRO
FC Eindhoven, Netherlands
Ben GARUCCIO
Melbourne Heart
Jason GERIA
Brisbane Roar
Jackson IRVINE
Celtic FC, Scotland
Paul IZZO (gk)
Adelaide United
Liam JACOB (gk)
Oldham Athletic FC, England
Tom KING
Bristol City FC, England
Jamie MACLAREN
Blackburn Rovers, England
Hayden MORTON
Central Coast Mariners
Luke O’DEA
Bentleigh Greens, Victorian Premier League
Mitchell OXBORROW
Newcastle Jets
Daniel PETKOVSKI
Sydney FC
Adam TAGGART
Newcastle Jets
Ryan WILLIAMS
Fulham FC, England
As at 3 October 2012
Team Staff
Paul Okon – Head Coach
Milan Blagojevic – Assistant Coach (Scholarship)
Trevor Morgan – Assistant Coach
Fernando Alves – Goalkeeping Coach
Simon Roberts – Team Manager
Trevor Law – Doctor
Matthew Freke – Physiotherapist
Vince Del Bono – Massage Therapist
Upcoming match details
Portugal U-20 National Team v Qantas Young Socceroos
11 October 2012
Venue: Municipal Stadium, Mafra, Portugal
Kick-off time: TBC
Portugal U-20 National Team v Qantas Young Socceroos
14 October 2012
National Stadium, Jamor, Lisbon, Portugal
Kick-off time: TBC
Young Socceroos Squad Announced
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