Qantas Joeys Head Coach Alistair Edwards has selected a 20-player squad that for the upcoming ASEAN Football Federation U-16 Preparatory Tournament in Vientiane, Laos from 2-8 June 2012.
Qantas Joeys Head Coach Alistair Edwards has selected a 20-player squad that for the upcoming ASEAN Football Federation U-16 Preparatory Tournament in Vientiane, Laos from 2-8 June 2012.
The Qantas Joeys will play three matches in the four-nation tournament against Japan, Laos and Thailand.
Following last week-s draw announcement for the AFC U-16 Championship 2012, Edwards is using this tournament for competitive match experience and to blood some younger players.
“We are really looking forward to this opportunity to gain much needed International football experience,” said Edwards.
“I have always admired the way in which Japan approach the game and Laos & Thailand have improved greatly in the past few years at youth level.
“During the last few training camps the focus has been on identifying the players that best suit our style of play and I-m pleased to see that our young Australian footballers have adapted well.
“Tony and I have been mindful of the Relative Age Effect and this squad is reflective of this. Some really promising younger players have caught my eye and as such, in line with the national long term player development philosophy, there are five 1997 born players included in this Australian-based Qantas Joeys squad, the youngest being Lawrence Hanna who is 14 years old.
“We have a 12 game international program leading up to Iran (AFC U-16 Championship) and the experience gained in Laos, Saudi Arabia and Bolivia will provide an excellent platform for the players to develop,” concluded Edwards.
The Qantas Joeys will assemble in Canberra on Sunday (27 May) for a short pre-tournament training camp before heading to Laos next Wednesday.
Football Federation Australia would like to thank the AIS for their ongoing support for this training camp & tournament and the Qantas Joeys Football Program.
Qantas Joeys squad for ASEAN Football Federation U-16 Preparatory Tournament - Vientiane, Laos - 2-8 June 2012
Jordan Thurtell (gk) AIS Darcy Madden AIS Aaron Calver NSWIS Benjamin Warland AIS Dylan Pickert AIS Kevin Ly NSWIS Steve Kuzmanovski AIS Liam Rose NSWIS Lawrence Hanna Parramatta FC Daniel De Silva Football West Alex Gersbach NSWIS Lucas Spinella (gk) AIS Jeremy Tshongo AIS Jack Iredale Football West Brendan Gonano AIS Matthew Ntoumenopoulos AIS Joshua MacDonald NSWIS Lukas Stergiou Sutherland Sharks FC Bright Appiah AIS Matthew Schmidt AIS