The Subway Olyroos will travel to Saudi Arabia during the March FIFA Men’s International Window, as they compete in the fifth edition of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U23 Championship – Saudi Arabia 2024.
The tournament – played out of Al Hofuf, Saudi Arabia – will also feature Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand.
The eight participating teams have been broken up into four groups, who will each play three matches throughout the tournament, with opponents beyond the first match dependent on results.
The Subway Olyroos have been drawn in Group D alongside Iraq, and will then face either Egypt or UAE in their second fixture, with the match schedule then opening up before the conclusion of the Championship.
Australia will take an extended 26-man squad to the tournament, in what will be the Subway Olyroos’ final opportunity to prepare for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™.
Subway Olyroos’ Head Coach, Tony Vidmar said the Championship would lay the foundation for what will be a big six months for his squad.
“We’ve been building towards this as a group for some time now and this window presents as perfect preparation for the U23 Asian Cup in April,” Vidmar said.
“The extra game is hugely beneficial and has given us the chance to take an extended squad and provide more opportunities to players who are in contention for our U23 Asian Cup squad.
“The players understand what’s at stake and I’ve got no doubt the squad will get our 2024 campaign started on the right note in Saudi Arabia,” concluded Vidmar.
The Subway Olyroos will announce their 26-man squad for the WAFF U23 Championship – Saudi Arabia 2024 on Friday, 8 March.
The Subway Olyroos are one of 16 teams who have qualified for the AFC U23 Asian Cup™, Qatar 2024, should they finish in the top three they will automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics as the AFC representatives, while the fourth-best team will play an AFC-CAF play-off match for the final qualification spot.
SUBWAY OLYROOS’ SQUAD | MATCH SCHEDULE | MARCH FIFA MEN’S INTERNATIONAL WINDOW
Australia U23 v Iraq U23
Thursday, 21 March 2024
Kick-off: 8.00pm AST / 4am AEDT (Friday, 22 March)
Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, Saudi Arabia
Australia U23 v TBC
Saturday, 23 March 2024
Kick-off: TBC
Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, Saudi Arabia
Australia U23 v TBC
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Kick-off: TBC
Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, Saudi Arabia