Amini into Under 23s squad as Antonis ruled out

Mustafa Amini will replace Terry Antonis in the Qantas Australian Under 23s squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games.

Mustafa Amini will replace Terry Antonis in the Qantas Australian Under 23s squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games - Third Round matches against Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after Antonis failed a fitness test today.

This morning Antonis was tested under the supervision of FFA-s Head of Medical Services, Dr Jeff Steinweg, the Sydney FC team doctor, Dr Andrew McDonald, and Sydney FC physiotherapist Stan Ivancic. Unfortunately for Antonis he was unable to satisfactorily complete the tasks required and as a result was ruled out of the upcoming two matches.

Antonis was disappointed that he will not be able to join the squad but is confident that the Qantas Australian Under 23s can do the job away from home.

“I-m disappointed that I won-t be able to represent Australia in these games,” Antonis said this morning.

“I love playing for my country and was really looking forward to playing in these two important matches.

“I-m sure the boys will be able to get the job done and I wish Aurelio and the team good luck,” concluded Antonis

Amini, along with the majority of the Qantas Australian Under 23s, will depart Australia on 29 January for a pre-match camp in the UAE before heading to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan at the JAR Stadium on Sunday 5 February (Kick-off 8:00pm local, 2:00am AEDT).

The Qantas Australian U23s will then return to the UAE for a training camp to prepared for their next qualification match against the UAE at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday 22 February (Kick-Off 5:30pm local (00:30am AEDT). The training camp will also include a friendly match against the Philippines senior national team at the Zabeel Stadium, Dubai on Thursday 16 February (Kick-off 7:30pm local (02:30am AEDT).

The teams in each group of the third round of qualifying play in a home-and-away format from 21 September 2011, to 14 March 14, 2012, with the winner of each group directly qualifying for the London 2012 Olympic Games Football competition.

The three second-placed teams from the third round will clash in a playoff at a centralised venue from March 25 to 29, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of CAF (Africa) for a berth in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Qantas Australian U-23s Squad List AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games - Round 3 V Uzbekistan and UAE - February 2012

Mustafa Amini, Aziz Behich, Mark Birighitti, Oliver Bozanic, Kerem Bulut, Isaka Cernak, Mate Dugandzic. Diogo Ferreira, Matthew Foschini, Antony Golec, Jason Hoffman, Matthew Jurman, Ben Kantarovski, Daniel Mullen, Mitch Nichols, Dimitrios Petratos, Sebastian Ryall, Mathew Ryan, Adam Taggart, Rocco Visconte.

Upcoming Match Details AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games - Third Round Uzbekistan v Qantas Australian U23s Jar Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan Sunday, 5 February 2012 Kick-off: 8:00pm local (2:00 am AEDT)

International Friendly Match Qantas Australian U23s v Philippines Zabeel Stadium, Dubai Thursday 16 February 2012 Kick-off: 7.30pm local (2:30am AEDT)

AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games - Third Round UAE v Qantas Australian U23s Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE Wednesday, 22 February 2012 Kick-off: 5:30pm local (00:30am AEDT)