When the Qantas Young Socceroos take the field at the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt later this month they’ll be wearing green and gold but the team will have a distinctly Sky Blue feel. Sydney FC players dominate the 21-man squad, with five members of the team hailing from the Harbour City.
When the Qantas Young Socceroos take the field at the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt later this month they-ll be wearing green and gold but the team will have a distinctly Sky Blue feel. Sydney FC players dominate the 21-man squad, with five members of the team hailing from the Harbour City.
Hyundai A-League players, Kofi Danning, Rhyan Grant and Matt Jurman are leading the Sydney charge. National Youth League defender, Sam Munro and recent NYL signing, Sam Gallagher have also earned a place on the plane to Egypt.
“It-s a good achievement for the club having five in there,” said Rhyan Grant. “It-s a pretty good team, there-re some good players there so I-m happy to be amongst it.”
“I-m over the moon,” added Kofi Danning, who recently received clearance from FIFA to represent his adopted country. “I-ve been working hard on the tours where I-ve gone away with the team and to be picked is a big honour. I always wanted to represent Australia and now I get the chance, it-s great.”
Defender, Matt Juman has been a long-term member of the U-20 squad and is confident Australia can do well at the Cup.
“All the tours and all the training and camps and everything – it all comes down to this. I-m really happy that I-m going. It-s good for all the boys that are going,” he explained. “Most of the boys that we thought would be going are in the squad and I think we-ll be pretty strong. Hopefully we-ll go well.”
For Sam Munro, the World Cup is a great chance to impress on the world stage and continue his push to become a professional footballer.
“It-s a really big achievement and I can-t wait to get over there. There are lots of opportunities over there for all the boys,” said Munro, who is again part of Sydney-s Youth League setup this season after helping the team win the 2008/09 title.
“I-m expecting to get on the field and show what I can do. I-m not afraid of the stage, I-m quite comfortable around everyone and hopefully I-ll get my chance.”
The Qantas Young Socceroos will depart next Monday (September 14) for a final pre-tournament training camp in Cyprus. Australia-s first match at the U-20 World Cup will be against the Czech Republic on September 27.
The full 21-man squad is as follows:
Andrew Redmayne (gk) (Central Coast Mariners)
Daniel Mullen (Adelaide United)
Luke DeVere (Brisbane Roar)
Ryan McGowan (Hearts FC, Scotland)
Matthew Jurman (Sydney FC)
James Holland (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)
Tahj Minniecon (Gold Coast United)
Aaron Mooy (Bolton Wanderers, England)
Jason Hoffman (Newcastle Jets)
Mitch Nichols (Brisbane Roar)
Thomas Oar (Brisbane Roar)
Nathan Elasi (Melbourne Victory)
Chris Herd (Aston Villa, England)
Kofi Danning (Sydney FC)
Sam Munro (Sydney FC)
Benjamin Kantarovski (Newcastle Jets)
Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC)
Dean Bouzanis (gk) (Liverpool FC, England)
Sean Rooney (Newcastle Jets)
Sam Gallagher (Sydney FC)
Alex Cisak (gk) (Leicester City, England)
