Morgan: Battle-hardened Joeys ready to take on the world
Head Coach Trevor Morgan says the Joeys are heading to the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019™ battle-hardened and ready to make their mark on the world stage.
Morgan revealed his 21-player squad that will represent Australia at the tournament in South America, on Wednesday.
It comes at the end of a massive six months for the Aussie youngsters that has seen them play high-level matches at tournaments in Turkey and England.
The Joeys played against host-nation Turkey, Tanzania and Guinea at a UEFA-hosted youth tournament in March, before last month’s tour of England where they took on Korea Republic, Brazil and the Three Lions.
“It’s helped sharpen the saw a little bit but also helped the boys’ with their self-belief,” said Morgan.
“When they are playing their best football they can match anybody and that’s what you need to have going into the tournament.”
JOEYS SQUAD: Trevor Morgan names Australia’s Brazil-bound boys
#StrongerAsUS: How the Joeys came up with their own hashtag for FIFA U-17 World Cup™
It's that type of international experience that has instilled the squad with the belief they can go deep into the tournament.
The Joeys come up against Ecuador, Hungary and Nigeria in the group stage.
“From the boys themselves, it’s to win every match they play,” said Morgan when asked the team's expectations in Brazil.
“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.”
Morgan’s squad will depart Australia – or their respective European clubs – on Monday, October 7 and will set up camp in Chile.
They will spend 12 days together preparing in a pre-tournament training camp in Santiago.
“We don’t often get that much time together,” Morgan said. “Most national teams don’t get that much time together apart from before a major tournament.
“The extra time to repeat things we want to be really good at, for the staff to work with them and fine-tune the details, for the boys to keep building on principles we are looking at - the time is really invaluable.”
Morgan said the squad announcement was an exciting realisation that their World Cup quest is coming up quickly on the horizon.
“It’s a nice feeling. Often with big tournaments, especially for kids, there’s a long time waiting," he said.
“So now, it’s getting close, it’s getting real. Seeing the boys with their strips on with the FIFA logos, it’s nice to see the smiles on their faces.”
Australia U-17 Men’s National Football Team (‘Joeys’) | Match Schedule | FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019
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
