Set to battle China, Cambodia and the Northern Mariana Islands at McEwen Reserve, the Joeys will feature 22 Australian-based players, alongside one from England in a line-up that is sure to impress.
Adelaide United forward Nestory Irankunda will be one player that Shepparton soccer fans are sure to be excited about, with the 16-year-old attacker playing 13 A-League games last season.
Named on Saturday after an intense two-week training camp in Melbourne, the squad ― coached by Brad Maloney ― will be looking to qualify for next year’s Asian Cup in Bahrain.
“We’ve had an excellent two weeks in camp and set a strong foundation for the program, not just for this qualifying tournament, but for the years ahead,” Maloney said.
“Competition across all positions was strong, which made selecting the final 23 players challenging. In the end, we’ve chosen what we consider to be the best available squad for what will be a testing tournament format with three matches inside five days.”
The first international activity for the Joeys since 2019 and the first time Australia has hosted a qualification group or qualifiers for an AFC Youth tournament since 2009, the youngsters will be hoping to put their best foot forward on home soil.
“We have to respect our opposition, it’s going to be a tough group,” Maloney said.
“We don’t know a lot about the opposition because of the hiatus in the last couple of years, but we expect challenging matches from all three teams.
“Countries throughout south east Asia and east Asia are investing heavily in the game, particularly at the youth level and development.
“I know the Cambodian team have a core group of players that have been together for a long time now preparing for this tournament and China have been in Australia for almost a month, so they’re taking it very seriously and we know we have a tough assignment ahead in Shepparton.”
Kicking off on Wednesday at 3pm, tickets for the Shepparton qualifiers are available for free online at www.eventbrite.com/cc/afc-u17-asian-cup-qualifiers-group-g-1089649
Pick up a copy of Wednesday’s News for a full preview of the tournament.
23-man Joeys squad
Goalkeepers
Gus Hoefsloot - Sydney
Anthony Pavlesic - Central Coast Mariners
Michael Vonja - Western United
Defenders
Peter Antoniou - Melbourne City
Zachary De Jesus - Sydney United
Lucas Herrington - Brisbane Roar
Ryan Kalms - Melbourne City
Andriano Lebib - Perth Glory
Jacob McLachlan - Sydney
Andre Parkes - Central Coast Mariners
Jaylan Pearman - Perth Glory
Sotiri Phillis - Adelaide United
Xavier Smith - Crewe Alexandra
Midfielders
Miguel Di Pizio - Central Coast Mariners
Ben Dunbar - Central Coast Mariners
Tiago Quintal - Sydney
Corey Sutherland - Perth Glory
Fabian Talladira - Adelaide United
Attackers
Campbell Dovison - Central Coast Mariners
Mitchell Glasson - Sydney
Ayman Gulasi - Macarthur
Max Hatley - Western Sydney Wanderers
Nestory Irankunda - Adelaide United