FOOTBALL: Australian Head Coach Aurelio Vidmar has named an exciting 23-man squad for the AFC U-23 Championship Doha 2016 in Qatar from 14-30 January, which is the final round of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Senior international players Chris Ikonomidis, Josh Brillante, Adam Taggart and Terry Antonis headline a squad that also includes overseas-based starlets Daniel de Silva and Mustafa Amini as well as 12 players from the domestic A-League competition.
Defending A-League Champions/Premiers Melbourne Victory has five players in the squad with the selection of Thomas Deng, Giancarlo Gallifuoco, Scott Galloway, Jason Geria and Connor Pain testament to the pathway created by Victory coach Kevin Muscat.
Brisbane Roar trio Brandon Borrello, James Donachie and Jamie Maclaren will be joined by Sydney FC pair Andrew Hoole and Alex Gerbasch while Paul Izzo (Central Coast Mariners) and Stefan Mauk (Melbourne City) will also fly the A-League flag.
“We have put together an exciting squad that includes some players with Socceroos experience and also illustrates the strength of the A-League and its position as a true pathway for national team footballers,” Vidmar said.
“The squad contains 12 players from our National Competition and the A-League clubs and coaches should be congratulated for the part they play in developing these players.
“We have taken the group through an important journey with qualifying, camps and friendly matches but this is a step up in class that they have to take in their development as international football players.
“We head to Qatar for a tough tournament but we have a good group of players that and we’re confident we can qualify for the Olympic Games, which is a great opportunity for the players.”
The team will head to Dubai for a seven day camp before the opening match in Group D against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 14 January at the Grand Hamad Stadium. The Aussie side also play Vietnam (17 January) and Jordan (20 January) with the top two teams progressing to the quarter finals.
The top three teams will qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games Football Tournament.
Australian squad for the AFC U-23 Championship Doha 2016 in Qatar
Mustafa Amini, Terry Antonis, Brandon Borrello, Josh Brilliante, Cameron Burgess, Daniel De Silva, Thomas Deng, James Donachie, Jack Duncan, Ryan Edwards, Giancarlo Gallifuoco, Scott Galloway, Jason Geria, Alex Gerbasch, Andrew Hoole, Chris Ikonomidis, Paul Izzo, Aaron Lennox, Jamie Maclaren, Stefan Mauk, Connor Pain, Adam Taggart, Steven Ugarkovic.
Match Details
Australia v UAE
14 January 2016
Grand Hamad Stadium
7.30pm (3.30am 15 January AEDT)
Vietnam v Australia
17 January 2016
Grand Hamad Stadium
4.30pm (12.30am 18 January AEDT)
Jordan v Australia
20 January 2016
Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium
7.30pm (3.30am 15 January AEDT)
Possible quarter final – 23 January 2016
Possible semi final – 26 January 2016
Possible 3rd/4th playoff – 29 January 2016
Possible Final – 30 January 2016
