The Qantas Young Socceroos have been drawn in Group C, alongside El Salvador, Colombia and host nation Turkey for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The Qantas Young Socceroos have been drawn in Group C, alongside El Salvador, Colombia and host nation Turkey for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be played from 21 June and 13 July 2013.
The draw was made on Monday night (Turkish time) at the Grand Tarabya Hotel in Istanbul by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke along with Turkish Football legends, Fatih Terim, Mustafa Denizli, Hakan Sukur and Rustu Recber.
Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Paul Okon, who was in Turkey for the draw, is looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead for his team.
“All the groups at the FIFA U-20 World Cup will be tough. Every game will be a final and we look forward to representing Australia and showcasing Australia as a serious football country,” Okon said.
“We are confident that we can rise to this wonderful occasion.
“Playing in a World Cup is a huge challenge but none more so than playing in a group that has the host nation.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for our players to play against the world's best players,” concluded Okon.
The 19th edition of this FIFA youth football tournament will see 24 nations play a total of 52 matches in the seven host cities of Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Kayseri, Rize and Trabzon.
The Qantas Young Socceroos will play their first match of the tournament against Colombia on 22 June, and then face El Salvador on 25 June before their final group match against Turkey on 28 June with all three matches to be played in the Black Sea coastal cities of Trabzon (Colombia & Turkey) and Rize (El Salvador).
The opening match of the tournament will see Cuba play the Korea Republic on Friday 21 June in Kayseri.
The Qantas Young Socceroos qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup having made the semi-finals of the AFC U19 Youth Championships in the UAE last year.
All Qantas Young Socceroos matches at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 will be broadcast live & exclusive on SBS TV.
xFIFA U-20 World Cup 2013 group stage draw:
GROUP A (Istanbul, Kayseri): France, CAF, USA, Spain. GROUP B (Kayseri, Istanbul): Cuba, Korea Republic, CAF, Portugal GROUP C (Trabzon, Rize, Gaziantep): Turkey, El Salvador, Colombia, Australia GROUP D (Gaziantep, Trabzon): Mexico, Greece, Paraguay, CAF GROUP E (Antalya, Bursa): Chile, CAF Champions, England, Iraq GROUP F (Bursa, Antalya): OFC Champions, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Croatia
For the definition of the three positions called CAF, a separate draw will take place at the conclusion of the CAF African Youth Championship on 30 March in Oran, Algeria, to determine which group the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place teams from CAF will play in.