Qantas Joeys Head Coach Jan Versleijen has announced his 23-player squad that will compete at the upcoming AFC U-16 Championship which will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 24 October to 7 November 2010.
"With the majority of the players coming from the AIS, I am very confident that we have the right group of players to achieve our goals at the AFC U-16 Championship," said Versleijen.
"Unfortunately, two years ago we didn't qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, so our first goal is to do well in the group stage and then in the quarter finals to make the top four.
"Playing competitive matches at these tournaments is very important for the development of these players and we are looking forward to the challenge ahead," concluded Versleijen.
The Qantas Joeys qualified for the AFC U-16 Championship after winning the Group H qualification tournament over Laos and Malaysia which was held in Canberra last year.
The Qantas Joeys have been drawn in Group C of the tournament and play their first match against Timor Leste on Monday 25 October (kick-off 7:00pm local, 1:00am AEDT), and then face Vietnam on Wednesday 27 October (kick-off 7:00pm local, 1:00am AEDT) before their final group match against Japan on Friday 29 October (kick-off 1.00pm local, 7:00pm AEDT). The top two teams from each group then advance to the quarter-finals on Monday 1 November, with the winners progressing to the semi-finals which will be held on Thursday 4 November. The final will be played on Sunday 7 November (kick-off 2:00pm local, 8.00pm AEDT).
The top four team's (the semi-finalists) will qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup 2011 which will be held Mexico from the 18 June - 10 July.
The Qantas Joeys will depart Australia on Monday 18 October for a short training camp in Dubai before heading to Uzbekistan on 22 October to prepare for their opening match of the tournament.
QANTAS JOEYS SQUADAFC U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP - UZBEKISTAN 201024 October - 7 November 2010
Nicholas Ansell (Melbourne Victory) Kwabena Boahene (AIS) Corey Brown (AIS) Samuel Chapple (NSWIS) Connor Chapman (AIS) Milos Degenek (AIS) Giancarlo Gallifuoco (AIS) Benjamin Garuccio (SASI) Paul Izzo (AIS) Jesse Makarounas (AIS) Jacob Melling (SASI) Jake Monaco (AIS) Hayden Morton (NSWIS) Brodie Paterson (AIS) Yianni Perkatis (AIS) Anthony Proia (AIS) Luke Remington (NNSWIS) Daniel Sadaka (Sutherland Sharks) Lachlan Tibbles (AIS) Abe Wheelhouse (NNSWIS) Jakob Williams (ACTAS) Riley Woodcock (WAIS) Kwame Yeboah (QAS)
