Young Socceroos World Cup squad announced

The Australian U20 team for this month’s World Cup in Egypt has been named.

Jan Versleijen named a 21-man squad for the tournament which commences on September 24 and finishes on October 16.

The Dutch tactician was happy with his squad and looking forward to taking on the world’s best under 20 teams.

“We had the opportunity to have a good look at all eligible players during our campaign which began almost 16 months ago,” said Versleijen.

“We have experienced a variety of opposition in different conditions and locations which has helped in the development of the players.

“Our recent tours to Europe and South America have also given us valuable experience against the similar type of opposition that we will face at the World Cup.

“We have selected the best available players in this age group based on experience and recent playing history.”

The following is the Australian squad for the FIFA U20 World Cup:

Qantas Young Socceroos Squad:
1. Andrew Redmayne (gk) (Central Coast Mariners)
2. Daniel Mullen (Adelaide United)
3. Luke DeVere (Brisbane Roar)
4. Ryan McGowan (Hearts FC, Scotland)
5. Matthew Jurman (Sydney FC)
6. James Holland (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)
7. Tahj Minniecon (Gold Coast United)
8. Aaron Mooy (Bolton Wanderers, England)
9. Jason Hoffman (Newcastle Jets)
10. Mitch Nichols (Brisbane Roar)
11. Thomas Oar (Brisbane Roar)
12. Nathan Elasi (Melbourne Victory)
13. Chris Herd (Aston Villa, England)
14. Kofi Danning (Sydney FC)
15. Sam Munro (Sydney FC)
16. Ben Kantarovski (Newcastle Jets)
17. Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC)
18. Dean Bouzanis (gk) (Liverpool FC, England)
19. Sean Rooney (Newcastle Jets)
20. Sam Gallagher (Manly United)
21. Alex Cisak (gk) (Leicester City, England)

Qantas Young Socceroos Schedule:
27 September: Australia v Czech Republic
30 September: Australia v Costa Rica
3 October: Australia v Brazil

FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009 Groups:
Group A:
Egypt, Trinidad & Tobago, Paraguay, Italy

Group B:
Nigeria, Venezuela, Spain, Tahiti

Group C:
USA, Germany, Cameroon, Korea Republic

Group D:
Ghana, Uzbekistan, England, Uruguay

Group E:
Brazil, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Australia

Group F:
United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Honduras, Hungary