Tournament preview: Joeys at the FIFA U-17 World Cup

The world’s best young footballers are converging in Brazil for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019™ which begins this Sunday morning (AEDT).

Australia’s Joeys are involved and determined to show the rest of the world just how good they are.

It’s sure to be an exciting time for Australia’s brightest young talents – and here’s everything you need to know about the tournament and how you can watch it!

READ MORE: Joeys primed to take on the world at FIFA U17 World Cup
#StrongerAsUS: How the Joeys came up with their own hashtag for FIFA U-17 World Cup™

Create-Football-Account-Socceroos

Our history

The 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the 13th time Australia has featured at the tournament, with the first coming back in 1985.

The Joeys advanced to the Quarter Final stage in five of the first six World Cups, and having missed out on qualification for the first time in 1997, reached the final of the tournament in 1999 in New Zealand, where they fell to Brazil on penalties. 

Our last appearance in the event came in Chile in 2015, where Australia made it to the Round of 16.

Our FIFA U-17 World Cup qualification

Australia qualified for this year’s tournament last September when the team reached the Semi Finals of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship, Malaysia, with a Quarter Final victory over Indonesia. 

In doing so, the Joeys became one of the four representatives from the Asian Football Confederation to participate in the tournament. 

The other three AFC nations are Japan, Korea Republic and Tajikistan.

READ MORE: FIFA U17 World Cup will cap momentous year for Ruhs
JOEYS SQUAD: T
revor Morgan names Australia’s Brazil-bound boys

Joeys-squad

Opponents

The Joeys have been placed in Group B at the tournament against Ecuador, Hungary, and Nigeria.

Ecuador are considered one of the dark horses for the tournament, having beaten international powerhouses Argentina 4-1 in April.

Hungary head to Brazil as more of an unknown quantity. It is just the second time the Europeans have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, following their participation in the inaugural 1985 event.

Nigeria, meanwhile, are the competition's most successful team with five titles to their name.

The top two teams from each of the six groups, plus the four best third-placed teams will advance to the knockout phase.

Trevor Morgan and Joeys

What they said

Joeys boss Trevor Morgan: “The boys' expectations are to win every match they play.

“That’s their belief. We are very much going on the mantra that there are no names etched into the trophy yet. 

“You have to go there with the mentality that you want to win. For us, we believe we will progress from our group and see what challenges meet us along the way.”

Joeys skipper Ryan Teague: “We all share the common mindset and goal that we can go over there and we can win this World Cup.

“Twenty years ago there was a team that went to the World Cup and lost in the final and we’re hoping to take that one step further.

“There’s so many good players that keep on coming through so it’s an exciting time to be going over to a World Cup.”

MORGAN: Battle-hardened Joeys ready to take on the world
FIXTURES: Schedule confirmed for Australia at 2020 AFC U-23 Championship

Ryan Teague
Joeys skipper Ryan Teague

How to watch

Ecuador v Australia
Date: Saturday, 26 October 2019
Venue: Estadio Olimpico, Goiania, Brazil
Kick-off: 8.00pm (local) – 10.00am (AEDT) Sunday, 27 October 2019
Broadcast: Live in Australia via SBS and theworldgame.sbs.com.au

Australia v Hungary
Date: Tuesday, 29 October 2019
Venue: Estadio Olimpico, Goiania, Brazil
Kick-off: 8.00pm (local) – 10.00am (AEDT) Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Broadcast: Live in Australia via SBS and theworldgame.sbs.com.au

Australia v Nigeria 
Date: Friday, 1 November 2019
Venue: Estadio Bezerrao, Brasilia (Gama), Brazil
Kick-off: 5.00pm (local) – 7.00am (AEDT) Saturday, 2 November 2019
Broadcast: Live in Australia via SBS and theworldgame.sbs.com.au

GetOnside AusBid2023 Limitless Banner