Brisbane Roar young gun Matt Acton is ready to battle for the green and gold No.1 jersey after being named in the Young Socceroos squad heading for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) U-19 Youth Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Joined by club teammate Daniel Bowles in the 20-man touring squad, Acton will be competing against Adelaide United shot-stopper Mark Birighitti for the right to start as coach Jan Versleijen-s first choice custodian.
However, Acton said he was prepared to put in the hard yards in order to overcome the experience of Birighitti.
“Birighitti is going this tour and he-s been there before … he-s played Asian Champions League and he-s played A-League,” Acton said.
“I just have to go there and do my own thing and not concentrate too much about what he has to do.
“Every time I play in front of Jan, I hopefully impress him enough to get selected for the next match.”
An up-and-comer in the national setup, Acton patrolled the Young Socceroos goal-line on the squad-s tour of South America in April.
And the 18-year-old said the lessons learnt in Paraguay and Argentina would be invaluable as he chases his dream of becoming a regular in Versleijen-s squad.
“Obviously being my first tour with the Australian team, the South American tour was a great experience,” he said.
“The South Americans play great football and to play against them was very challenging but at the same time rewarding.
“You always like to play for your country and hopefully I get another chance in Vietnam.”
The Young Socceroos open their AFF U-19 Youth Championships campaign against Korea Republic on July 24, before facing Thailand (July 26) and Vietnam (July 28).
Young Socceroos squad for the AFF U-19 Youth Championships:
NAME
1. Mark Birighitti G/K (Adelaide United)
2. Nikola Stanojevic (No current club)
3. Brendan Hamill (Melbourne Heart)
4. Sam Gallagher (Central Coast Mariners)
5. Kliment Taseski (Melbourne Heart)
6. Ben Kantarovski (Newcastle Jets)
7. Mathew Leckie (Adelaide United)
8. Steven Lustica (Gold Coast United
9. Eli Babalj (Melbourne Heart)
10. Christopher Bush (No current club)
11. Ben Halloran (Gold Coast United)
12. Dimitrios Petratos (Sydney FC)
13. Mustafa Amini (Central Coast Mariners)
14. Matthew Fletcher (Sunderland, UK)
15. Kamal Ibrahim (Melbourne Heart)
16. Daniel Bowles (Brisbane Roar)
17. Theo Markelis (No current club)
18. Matthew Acton G/K (Brisbane Roar)
19. Dylan McGowan (Hearts FC, Scotland)
20. Ryan Edwards (AIS)
