Young Socceroos to meet USA, Chile and Bermuda

Young Socceroos head coach Paul Okon has selected 20 Australian-based players for the upcoming Under-20 NTC Invitational tournament to be held at US Soccer’s National Training Centre in Carson, California from 14-18 July.

The USA training camp and international friendly matches are important parts of the Young Socceroos’ preparations for the AFC U-19 Championship in Myanmar in October this year, which also double as qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand which will be held in July 2015.

Adelaide United flyer Awer Mabil and Brisbane Roar starlet Brandon Borrello are just two of the exciting new stars in the squad, along with Daniel De Silva from Perth Glory, who recently inked a deal with Italian club AS Roma.  

Okon is looking forward to the tour and three matches which will be against quality opposition.

“The invitation to play in this tournament came a couple of months ago and we didn’t hesitate in accepting this opportunity to play three competitive matches at this stage of our preparations.

“Our players are currently in pre-season mode and this camp will be a good chance to see where they are currently at and what we will need to work on for the next phase of our campaign.

“The opposition will be challenging, but the more we play together the better prepared we will be for the AFC U-19 Championships“,” said Okon.

The Young Socceroos will play their opening match of the tournament against Bermuda on Monday 14 July (kick-off 1pm Pacific Time), with their second match against Chile on Wednesday 16 July (kick-off 1pm Pacific Time) and their final match against host nation USA on Friday 18 July (kick-off 7pm Pacific Time).

The Young Socceroos will depart Australia on Wednesday 9 July and will have a 4-day training camp at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Centre prior to the tournament.

Young Socceroos squad List – USA Tour 9-21 July 2014