A squad of 20 players has been named for the Young Socceroos' four-match tour of South America which occurs next month.
Jan Versleijen, head coach of the Young Socceroos, has put together a list of players who will take on Argentina and Paraguay U20 teams in preparation for the AFC U19 Championships which take place in China in October.
"This camp will be our first one this year and the first since we qualified for the AFC U-19 Championships," said Versleijen.
"It has been an interesting and difficult process selecting this squad with a number of players unavailable due to injury or recovery from injury, whilst others are involved in the AFC Champions League and with their various club commitments overseas.
"For the players it is fantastic to face challenging opposition such as Argentina and Paraguay.
"Both nations are very strong and play an unstructured style of football which will make our players think more about our their own game and make decisions quickly.
"This will be a huge step for some of the players, but the experience gained will be very valuable for our preparations as we head towards the AFC Championships at the end of the year with the goal of qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup," concluded Versleijen.
Qantas Young Socceroos squad to tour South America
Matthew ACTON (gk) (Brisbane Roar) Mustafa AMINI Central Coast Mariners) Daniel BOWLES Brisbane Roar) Kerem BULUT (FK Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic) Chris BUSH (Uncontracted) Stephen DOMENICI (Uncontracted) Petar FRANJIC (Melbourne Victory) Sam GALLAGHER (Central Coast Mariners) Ben HALLORAN (Gold Coast United) Chris HAROLD (Gold Coast United) Ben KANTAROVSKI (Newcastle Jets) Steven LUSTICA (Gold Coast United) Theo MARKELIS (Valencia, Spain) Francesco MONTEROSSO (Adelaide United) Tom OAR (Brisbane Roar) Alex PEARSON (gk) (Perth Glory) Trent SAINSBURY (Central Coast Mariners) Nikola STANOJEVIC (Uncontracted) Kliment TASESKI (Melbourne Heart) Marc WARREN (Central Coast Mariners)
Match schedule for South America tour
Tuesday April 6, v Paraguay U20 national team in Asuncion, Paraguay Thursday April 8, v Paraguay U20 national team in Asuncion, Paraguay Tuesday April 13, v Argentina U20 national team in Buenos Aires, Argentina Thursday April 20, v Argentina U20 national team in Buenos Aires, Argentina
