Australia names U-17 squad for Finland

SA RELEASE – Australian Under-17 coach ANGE POSTECOGLOU today named a 20-man Qantas Joeys squad for the FIFA U-17 World Championship to be held in Finland next month.

The squad is based entirely on players that featured in either the Oceania qualifiers in February or the recent two-match tour of Finland.

The 20-man Australian Under-17 Squad is:

Goalkeepers:

Nick Crossley (SASI); Mario Aparicio (QAS); Nathan Hughes (Northern Spirit)

Defenders:

Jacob Timpano (Wollongong Wolves); Keegan Wolfenden (AIS); Nigel Boogard (Newcastle United); Ben Griffin (QAS); Adrian Leijer (VIS)

Midfielders:

Kristian Sarkies (VIS); Erik Paartalu (NSWIS); Matt Christensen (Southampton, England); Dane Richardson (QAS); Lachlan Cahill (Olympic Sharks); Angelo Martino (Parramatta Power)

Forwards:

Serkan Oksuz (Melbourne Knights); Richard Cardozo (Parramatta Power); Adam Casey (AIS); Dez Giraldi (AIS); Matt Hilton (Olympic Sharks); Matthew Deegan (AIS)

The Australian squad will convene for a pre-tournament camp in Melbourne between July 25-31. The Qantas Joeys will then be based in England for the build-up to the tournament playing a number of friendly games in the process, before departing for Finland on August 9 ahead of the first tournament match against Argentina on August 13.

The Qantas Joeys have drawn a tough group and will play in Group B alongside Argentina, Nigeria and Costa Rica at Turku in south-western Finland. The full draw for the Qantas Joeys is:

Australia Vs Argentina

Tuesday 19 August – 20:00

(* all times are Finnish time)

The 16-team tournament will be held from August 13-30 with Group B to be played at the Turku Stadium. The final will be played at Helsinki’s Toolo Stadium and will be the first FIFA tournament final to be played on an artificial grass surface.

Australia are set to compete for the 9th time at a FIFA U-17 World Championship having missed only the 1997 edition of the tournament. The Qantas Joeys have an impressive record highlighted by a 2nd placing at the 1999 tournament in New Zealand where the team was defeated in the final by Brazil in a penalty shoot-out.