Australia national under-20 football team

Australia U20
	Australia U20
Nickname(s)	Young Socceroos
Ground	None
Head Coach	Ufuk Talay
Website	Club home page
First game	Australia 9–0 Papua New Guinea ; (New Zealand; 11 November 1978)
Largest win	Australia 16–0 Samoa ; (Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 15 February 2001)
Largest defeat	Australia 0–4 Brazil ; (Córdoba, Argentina; 27 June 2001)

General

Kit history

The Australia national under-20 soccer team represents Australia in international under-20 soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Federation Australia (FFA), which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) since leaving the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) in 2006. The team's official nickname is the Young Socceroos. Australia is a twelve-time OFC champion and three-time AFF champion. The team has represented Australia at the FIFA U-20 World Cup tournaments on fifteen occasions.

History[]

2006 AFC U-19 Championship[]

In their first foray into Asia in 2006 the team lost the quarterfinals of the AFC Youth Championship, to South Korea, despite being considered one of the stronger teams. This was the first time the Young Socceroos had failed to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup since 1989. Subsequently, on 5 February 2007 the FFA decided not to renew Ange Postecoglou's contract as head coach, he was replaced by former Socceroo, and current AIS head coach of soccer, Steve O'Connor.

2008 AFC U-19 Championship[]

On 24 June 2008 Jan Versleijen was appointed as the new U-20 coach ahead of the 2008 tournament, with the FFA eager to avoid a repeat of 2006, and qualify for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. In preparation for the tournament, Australia competed in the 2008 ASEAN Youth Championships in Thailand alongside China, Korea Republic and Thailand. A competition they ultimately won through a penalty shoot-out against South Korea. The 2008 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by Saudi Arabia. Australia topped Group D with wins over Thailand and Jordan and a 1–1 draw with Uzbekistan. Australia then needed an extra time winner from Mitch Nichols to overcome North Korea in the quarter final before losing 3–0 to UAE in the semi-final. However, by making it through to the semi-final was enough to qualify for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup[]

Australia qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt after finishing in the final four of the 2008 AFC U-19 Championship. A late James Holland penalty meant Australia lost their opening game to Czech Republic 2–1 before Costa Rica defeated the 'Young Socceroos' 3–0. In the final group game against Brazil, Aaron Mooy gave Australia an early lead however the final result saw Brazil win 3–1 and the Australians eliminated without a point.

2010 AFC U-19 Championship[]

To qualify for the tournament, Australia travelled to Bandung, Indonesia in November 2009 for the qualification group and proceeded after finishing second in a group of six nations. Wins over Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Singapore proceeded a 0–0 draw with the hosts, Indonesia and a loss to Japan.

Australia competed in the 2010 AFC Under 19 Championship Finals held in Zibo, China. The tournament was held from 3 to 17 October 2010 in Shandong province. The matches were played at the Zibo Sports Complex Stadium and Linzi Stadium.

Wins over Yemen and Iran followed by a 0–0 draw with South Korea meant Australia topped the group on goal difference. In the quarter final against United Arab Emirates, Australia twice lead before UAE equalised and took the game to extra time. Two extra time goals for Australia set up a semi-final with Saudi Arabia, which Australia won 2–0 thanks to a Kerem Bulut double. The final was played on 17 October 2010 against North Korea. Despite leading in the first half, Australia couldn't hold on and lost the final 3–2. Kerem Bulut was the tournaments top scorer with 7 goals. Australia qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Colombia.

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup[]

Australia qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia after finishing in the final four of the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. Australia were drawn in a group comprising Spain, Ecuador & Costa Rica. Australia failed to progress out of the group after finishing last with one point. The first fixture resulted in a one all draw with Ecuador after Tommy Oar scored a late equaliser. The next game saw Costa Rica defeat Australia 3–2. In the final game against Spain, Australia was down by four goals after just 18 minutes. In the 27th minute Kerem Bulut grabbed a goal back before Spain made it 5–1 with a 31st-minute penalty. This was to be the final score.

2012 AFC U-19 Championship[]

To participate in the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship the Young Socceroos first had to qualify. The confederation was geographically separated and Australia was grouped with other East Asian nations, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Macau. These five nations met in Malaysia in November 2011 and Australia proceeded through the group by winning all four games, scoring 20 goals and conceding just 1. The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by United Arab Emirates in November. Australia were seeded for the tournament along with the hosts and South Korea and North Korea. Australia's opening game was against Qatar. The only goal of the game came in the 11th minute for Australia when Corey Gameiro scored. Gameiro was on the scoresheet in both of the following group games when his 81st-minute equaliser against Syria and his 91st-minute equaliser against Saudi Arabia meant both games finished 1–1. The critical late goal to Saudi Arabia meant Australia not only proceeded on to the next stage at the expense of the Saudis, but also topped the group. Australia took on Jordan in the quarter final and it was Gameiro scoring all three goals in a 3–0 win that put Australia through to the semi final and secured qualification to the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. Two second half goals to Iraq meant Australia were eliminated from the tournament. Gameiro's six goals was one short of the top goalscorer award.

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup[]

Paul Okon coached Australia in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey where they failed to win a game despite scoring the first goal in all 3 fixtures. Daniel De Silva gave Australia the lead before Colombia levelled the game at 1–1. Joshua Brillante scored early prior to El Salvador scoring twice before halftime and Jamie Maclaren scored in the 52nd minute but again Australia couldn't hold on with the hosts, Turkey scoring twice. These results mean Australia has failed to win in any of their last 13 U-20 World Cup fixtures with the last victory coming over Brazil on 4 December 2003.

2014 AFC U-19 Championship[]

Australia started the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship campaign by participating in the qualifiers in October 2013. They travelled to Malaysia where they were joined by Vietnam, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei. Mongolia had withdrawn. The first game was an easy 7–0 win over Hong Kong. Peter Skapetis scored four goals. They then defeated Chinese Taipei 3–0 before a humiliating 5–1 loss to Vietnam. Despite this, Australia were to proceed to the finals tournament as one of the best second placed teams. The 2014 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by Myanmar in October 2014. Paul Okon again was head coach of the Young Socceroos for the tournament. The opening game was against United Arab Emirates. Brandon Borrello gave Australia a late lead but an 85th-minute penalty to the UAE saw the score end in a draw. The second match was a 1–0 win over Indonesia through a Jaushua Sotirio goal. The final group game had Australia leading Uzbekistan in the 66th minute thanks to Stefan Mauk. However an 82nd-minute equaliser would prove devastating for Australia as this, and the result in the concurrent game placed UAE, Uzbekistan and Australia all on five points with Australia having the inferior goal difference and hence elimination from the tournament. Many observers sighted Australia's lack of desire to score more goals against Indonesia as the contributing factor to the elimination. Australia failed to qualify for the New Zealand 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. This is just the second time since 1989 that Australia hasn't competed in the biennial event.

2016 AFC U-19 Championship[]

Australia qualified for the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship that was held in Bahrain during October 2016. In the qualifiers hosted by Laos, they finished runner-up in their group and progressed on goal difference as one of the five best second placed teams. Comfortable wins over Philippines and Laos were followed by a heavy 3–0 loss to Japan. Steve Kuzmanovski finished as Australia's top scorer with three goals. This was the sixth consecutive U-19 Championship that Australia qualified for. Australia were coached by Ufuk Talay for the tournament and were drawn into Group D. The opening fixture was a 1–0 victory against China through a goal to Mario Shabow. The second game was against Uzbekistan. The Uzbeks led by three until they suffered a send off. Australia then responded through two second half penalties to Liam Youlley and George Blackwood however the final result was a 3–2 win for Uzbekistan. Australian needed to win against Tajikistan in the final group game to progress. Anthony Kalik had an early penalty saved and was later sent off for two yellow cards. The game finished 0–0 and Australia were eliminated from the tournament. As a consequence, they also failed to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. This is the first time that Australia have failed to qualify for two consecutive U-20 World Cups.

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following 23 players were called up for 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification on 4–8 November 2017. Caps and goals correct as of 8 November 2017.

#	Pos	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Dragicevic, DuroDuro Dragicevic	7 July 1999 (1999-07-07) (age 24)	2	0	Sydney FC
12	1GK	Delianov, JamesJames Delianov	20 October 1999 (1999-10-20) (age 24)	0	0	Melbourne City
18	1GK	Freke, MacklinMacklin Freke		0	0	Brisbane Roar

2	2DF	Russell, TateTate Russell	24 August 1999 (1999-08-24) (age 24)	2	0	Western Sydney Wanderers
3	2DF	Cordier, MathieuMathieu Cordier	8 March 1999 (1999-03-08) (age 25)	1	0	Western Sydney Wanderers
4	2DF	Reardon, AaronAaron Reardon	11 March 1999 (1999-03-11) (age 25)	2	0	Brisbane Roar
15	2DF	Trewin, KaiKai Trewin	18 May 2001 (2001-05-18) (age 22)	0	0	Unattached
20	2DF	Pagden, NoahNoah Pagden		0	0	Western Sydney Wanderers

6	3MF	Monge, FabianFabian Monge	12 July 2001 (2001-07-12) (age 22)	2	1	Western Sydney Wanderers
7	3MF	Najjarine, RamyRamy Najjarine		2	2	Melbourne City
8	3MF	Cavallo, JoshuaJoshua Cavallo	13 November 1999 (1999-11-13) (age 24)	0	0	Melbourne City
10	3MF	Genreau, DenisDenis Genreau (Captain)	21 May 1999 (1999-05-21) (age 24)	2	1	Melbourne City
16	3MF	Atkinson, NathanielNathaniel Atkinson		0	0	Melbourne City
17	3MF	Grozos, KostaKosta Grozos		2	0	Western Sydney Wanderers
21	3MF	Barnett, JayJay Barnett		0	0	Brisbane Roar
23	3MF	Tokich, MarcMarc Tokich	12 May 1999 (1999-05-12) (age 24)	2	0	Western Sydney Wanderers

5	4FW	Mourdoukoutas, TassTass Mourdoukoutas		2	0	Western Sydney Wanderers
9	4FW	Najjar, MoudiMoudi Najjar	20 June 2000 (2000-06-20) (age 23)	2	3	Melbourne City
11	4FW	Theoharous, ChristianChristian Theoharous	6 December 1999 (1999-12-06) (age 24)	2	0	Melbourne Victory
13	4FW	Italiano, JacobJacob Italiano	30 July 2001 (2001-07-30) (age 22)	2	0	Perth Glory
14	4FW	King, JoelJoel King	30 October 2000 (2000-10-30) (age 23)	1	0	Unattached
19	4FW	Roberts, JohnJohn Roberts	20 January 2001 (2001-01-20) (age 23)	0	0	Western Sydney Wanderers
22	4FW	Arzani, DanielDaniel Arzani	4 January 1999 (1999-01-04) (age 25)	1	0	Melbourne City

Recent call-ups[]

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months and remain eligible for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Richards, IsaacIsaac Richards	9 April 1999 (1999-04-09) (age 25)	0	0	Adelaide United	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017

DF	Pierias, DylanDylan Pierias	20 February 2000 (2000-02-20) (age 24)	0	0	Melbourne City	2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification^PRE
DF	Gollan, AlexAlex Gollan	8 February 1999 (1999-02-08) (age 25)	0	0	Sydney FC	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017

MF	Pasquali, SebastianSebastian Pasquali	7 November 1999 (1999-11-07) (age 24)	0	0	Jong Ajax	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017
MF	Scott, WalterWalter Scott	2 October 1999 (1999-10-02) (age 24)	0	0	Perth Glory	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017
MF	Sette, NicholasNicholas Sette	24 May 2000 (2000-05-24) (age 23)	0	0	Melbourne Victory	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017
MF	Stensness, GianniGianni Stensness	7 February 1999 (1999-02-07) (age 25)	0	0	Central Coast Mariners	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017
MF	Timmins, CallumCallum Timmins	23 December 1999 (1999-12-23) (age 24)	0	0	Perth Glory	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017

FW	Marafioti, GiordanoGiordano Marafioti	13 April 1999 (1999-04-13) (age 25)	0	0	South Melbourne	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017

	Adam, MohamedMohamed Adam	5 August 2000 (2000-08-05) (age 23)	0	0	Marconi Stallions	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017
	Puflett, OliverOliver Puflett	26 July 1999 (1999-07-26) (age 24)	0	0	Western Sydney Wanderers	v. Singapore, 4 August 2017

Recent results and fixtures[]

Friendly 2 August 2017	Western Australia	0–3	Australia	Perth, Australia
19:00 AWST		Report	Najjar 67' Sette 76' Puflett 90+1'	Stadium: Perth Plasterboard Centre Stadium Referee: Steve Gregory (Australia)

Friendly 4 August 2017	Australia	4–0	Singapore	Perth, Australia
19:00 AWST	Tokich 40' Najjar 56', 58' Theoharous 81' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Hartfield Park Attendance: ~1,000 Referee: Adam Fielding (Australia)

Four Nation Tournament 23 September 2017	Qatar	2–0	Australia	Doha, Qatar
		Report		Stadium: Aspire Academy

Four Nation Tournament 25 September 2017	Croatia	2–0	Australia	Doha, Qatar
		Report		Stadium: Aspire Academy

Four Nation Tournament 27 September 2017	Japan	3–3 (9–8 pen)	Australia	Doha, Qatar
	Hori 4' Ando 43' Ito 73'	Report	15' 16' 63'	Stadium: Aspire Academy
	Penalties
			{{{penalties2}}}

Four Nation Tournament Playoff for 3rd 30 September 2017	Japan	2–1	Australia	Doha, Qatar
	Goke 61', 78'	Report	8'	Stadium: Aspire Academy

2018 AFC U-19 qualification 4 November 2017	Hong Kong	0–3	Australia	Hanoi, Vietnam
18:00 ICT		Report	Najjarine 11' Najjar 80' (pen.), 85' (pen.)	Stadium: National YFT Center Attendance: 185 Referee: Takuto Okabe (Japan)

2018 AFC U-19 qualification 8 November 2017	Australia	4–1	North Korea	Hanoi, Vietnam
18:00 ICT	Monge 19' Najjar 26' Najjarine 48' Genreau 90+1'	Report	H. H. Kim 67'	Stadium: National YFT Center Attendance: 230 Referee: Saoud Al-Athbah (Qatar)

Records[]

Players with most appearances[]

As of 3 June 2012

Players in bold are still available for selection.

#	Name	Caps	Goals
1	Tommy Oar	33	4
1	Mark Birighitti	33	0
3	Kofi Danning	30	3
4	Matthew Jurman	26	0
5	Ben Kantarovski	25	2
5	James Holland	25	5
7	Andrew Redmayne	24	0
7	Craig Moore	24	0
7	Scott McDonald	24	16
7	Dylan McGowan	24	4

Players with most Goals Scored[]

As of 23 June 2013