Roar duo Aiden O’Neill & Connor O’Toole have both been selected in Gary van Egmond’s 24-man squad for Australia U-23’s upcoming two-match series against New Zealand U-23 in Wollongong and Campbelltown.
The pair are two of a number of representatives from Hyundai A-League clubs in the squad for the upcoming series.
The matches, to be played at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Friday 6 September and at Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown on Monday 9 September will serve as vital preparation ahead of the Olympic Games qualification tournament in January.
Young Socceroos Head Coach van Egmond, who will oversee the team for these games, says he has been working closely with Caltex Socceroos Head Coach Graham Arnold to select the strongest available squad for these important lead up matches.
“This squad is starting to spend a lot of valuable time together, after the qualification tournament in March in Cambodia, these games in New South Wales and more planned before the end of the year, we think we will be well placed once the Olympic qualifiers come around,” he said.
“The majority of our squad stems from the Hyundai A-League and it gives these young players an opportunity to continue to work towards a goal we have set, the first qualification at the Olympics for an Australian men’s team since 2008,” he said.
The Australian U-23s will travel to Thailand in January to compete in the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship where the top three teams will earn the right to join host nation Japan as Asia’s representatives at Tokyo 2020.
The New Zealand team will be aiming to qualify via the OFC U-23 Championship in September, where the winner will secure Oceania’s place in the tournament.
Australia U-23 24-Player Squad v New Zealand U-23
|
Name |
Club |
|
Nathaniel ATKINSON |
Melbourne City FC |
|
Keanu BACCUS |
Western Sydney Wanderers FC |
|
George BLACKWOOD |
Adelaide United FC |
|
Lachlan BROOK |
Adelaide United FC |
|
Nick D’AGOSTINO |
Perth Glory FC |
|
Daniel DE SILVA |
Central Coast Mariners FC |
|
Thomas DENG |
Melbourne Victory FC |
|
Denis GENREAU |
Melbourne City FC |
|
Alex GERSBACH |
AGF, Denmark |
|
Thomas GLOVER |
Melbourne City FC |
|
Tom HEWARD-BELLE |
Sydney FC |
|
Daniel MARGUSH |
Adelaide United FC |
|
Riley McGREE |
Adelaide United FC |
|
Connor METCALFE |
Melbourne City FC |
|
Tass MOURDOUKOUTAS |
Western Sydney Wanderers FC |
|
Aiden O’NEILL |
Brisbane Roar FC |
|
Connor O’TOOLE |
Brisbane Roar FC |
|
Sebastian PASQUALI |
Western United FC |
|
Kye ROWLES |
Central Coast Mariners FC |
|
Tate RUSSELL |
Western Sydney Wanderers FC |
|
Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS |
Western United FC |
|
Ivan VUJICA |
Western United FC |
|
Lachlan WALES |
Melbourne City FC |
|
Brandon WILSON |
Perth Glory FC |
International Friendlies – Australia U-23 v New Zealand U-23
Date: Friday, 6 September 2019
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEST
Tickets: Available at www.socceroos.com.au
Date: Monday, 9 September 2019
Venue: Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEST
Tickets: Available at www.socceroos.com.au
