Australia men's national under-20 soccer team

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Australia Under-20
Nickname(s)Young Socceroos
AssociationFootball Australia
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Head coachTrevor Morgan
FIFA codeAUS
First colours
Second colours
First international
Australia Australia 9–0 Papua New Guinea 
(New Zealand; 11 November 1978)
Biggest win
Australia Australia 16–0 Samoa 
(Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 15 February 2001)
Biggest defeat
Australia Australia 0–4 Brazil 
(Córdoba, Argentina; 27 June 2001)
Australia Australia 1–5 Spain 
(Manizales, Colombia; 6 August 2011)
Australia Australia 1–5 Vietnam 
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 7 October 2013)
Australia Australia 1–5 Thailand 
(Hanoi, Vietnam; 18 September 2016)
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Appearances8 (first in 2006)
Best resultRunners-up (2010)
OFC U-20 Championship
Appearances13 (first in 1978)
Best resultChampions (1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances15 (first in 1981)
Best resultFourth place (1991, 1993)
Websitehttps://www.socceroos.com.au/young-socceroos-u20s

The Australia national under-20 soccer team, known colloquially as the Young Socceroos, represents Australia in international under-20 soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia (FA), which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) since leaving the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) in 2006. The team's official nickname is the Young Socceroos.

Australia is a twelve-time OFC champion and five-time AFF champion. The team has represented Australia at the FIFA U-20 World Cup tournaments on fifteen occasions with their best result being a fourth-place finish in 1991 and 1993.

History[edit]

2006 AFC U-19 Championship[edit]

In their first foray into Asia in 2006 the team lost the quarterfinals of the AFC Youth Championship, to South Korea,[1] despite being considered one of the stronger teams. This was the first time the Young Socceroos had failed to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup since 1989. Subsequently, on 5 February 2007 the FFA decided not to renew Ange Postecoglou's contract as head coach,[2] he was replaced by former Socceroo, and current AIS head coach of soccer, Steve O'Connor.[3]

2008 AFC U-19 Championship[edit]

On 24 June 2008 Jan Versleijen was appointed as the new U-20 coach ahead of the 2008 tournament, with the FFA eager to avoid a repeat of 2006, and qualify for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.[4] In preparation for the tournament, Australia competed in the 2008 ASEAN Youth Championships in Thailand alongside China, Korea Republic and Thailand.[5] A competition they ultimately won through a penalty shoot-out against South Korea.[6] The 2008 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by Saudi Arabia. Australia topped Group D with wins over Thailand and Jordan and a 1–1 draw with Uzbekistan. Australia then needed an extra time winner from Mitch Nichols to overcome North Korea in the quarter-final before losing 3–0 to UAE in the semi-final. However, making it through to the semi-final was enough to qualify for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup[edit]

Australia qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt after finishing in the final four of the 2008 AFC U-19 Championship. Despite a late James Holland penalty, Australia lost their opening game to the Czech Republic 2–1 before Costa Rica defeated the 'Young Socceroos' 3–0. In the final group game against Brazil, Aaron Mooy gave Australia an early lead however the final result saw Brazil win 3–1 and Australia was eliminated without a point.

2010 AFC U-19 Championship[edit]

To qualify for the tournament, Australia travelled to Bandung, Indonesia in November 2009 for the qualification group and proceeded after finishing second in a group of six nations. Wins over Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Singapore proceeded to a 0–0 draw with the hosts, Indonesia and a loss to Japan.

Australia competed in the 2010 AFC Under 19 Championship Finals held in Zibo, China.[7]

The tournament was held from 3 to 17 October 2010 in Shandong province. The matches were played at the Zibo Sports Complex Stadium and Linzi Stadium.

Wins over Yemen and Iran followed by a 0–0 draw with South Korea meant Australia topped the group on goal difference. In the quarter-final against United Arab Emirates, Australia twice led before UAE equalised and took the game to extra time. Two extra time goals for Australia set up a semi-final with Saudi Arabia, which Australia won 2–0 thanks to a Kerem Bulut double. The final was played on 17 October 2010 against North Korea. Despite leading in the first half, Australia couldn't hold on and lost the final 3–2. Kerem Bulut was the tournament's top scorer with 7 goals. Australia qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Colombia.

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup[edit]

Australia qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia after finishing in the final four of the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. Australia was drawn in a group comprising Spain, Ecuador & Costa Rica.

Australia failed to progress out of the group after finishing last with one point. The first fixture resulted in a one all draw with Ecuador after Tommy Oar scored a late equaliser. The next game saw Costa Rica defeat Australia 3–2. In the final game against Spain, Australia was down by four goals after just 18 minutes. In the 27th minute Kerem Bulut grabbed a goal back before Spain made it 5–1 with a 31st-minute penalty. This was to be the final score.

2012 AFC U-19 Championship[edit]

To participate in the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship the Young Socceroos first had to qualify. The confederation was geographically separated and Australia was grouped with other East Asian nations, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Macau. These five nations met in Malaysia in November 2011 and Australia proceeded through the group by winning all four games, scoring 20 goals and conceding just 1.

The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by United Arab Emirates in November. Australia was seeded for the tournament along with the hosts and South Korea and North Korea. Australia's opening game was against Qatar. The only goal of the game came in the 11th minute for Australia when Corey Gameiro scored. Gameiro was on the scoresheet in both of the following group games when his 81st-minute equaliser against Syria and his 91st-minute equaliser against Saudi Arabia meant both games finished 1–1. The critical late goal to Saudi Arabia meant Australia not only proceeded on to the next stage at the expense of the Saudis but also topped the group.

Australia took on Jordan in the quarter-final and it was Gameiro scoring all three goals in a 3–0 win that put Australia through to the semi-final and secured qualification to the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. Two second half goals to Iraq meant Australia were eliminated from the tournament. Gameiro's six goals were one short of the top goalscorer award.

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup[edit]

Paul Okon[8] coached Australia in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey where they failed to win a game despite scoring the first goal in all 3 fixtures. Daniel De Silva gave Australia the lead before Colombia levelled the game at 1–1. Joshua Brillante scored early before El Salvador scored twice before halftime and Jamie Maclaren scored in the 52nd minute but again Australia couldn't hold on with the hosts, with Turkey scoring twice. These results mean Australia has failed to win in any of their last 13 U-20 World Cup fixtures with the last victory coming over Brazil on 4 December 2003.

2014 AFC U-19 Championship[edit]

Australia started the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship campaign by participating in the qualifiers in October 2013. They travelled to Malaysia where they were joined by Vietnam, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei. Mongolia had withdrawn. The first game was an easy 7–0 win over Hong Kong. Peter Skapetis scored four goals. They then defeated Chinese Taipei 3–0 before a humiliating 5–1 loss to Vietnam. Despite this, Australia was to proceed to the finals tournament as one of the best second placed teams.

The 2014 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by Myanmar in October 2014. Paul Okon again was head coach of the Young Socceroos for the tournament. The opening game was against United Arab Emirates. Brandon Borrello gave Australia a late lead but an 85th-minute penalty to the UAE saw the score end in a draw.[9] The second match was a 1–0 win over Indonesia through a Jaushua Sotirio goal. The final group game had Australia leading Uzbekistan in the 66th minute thanks to Stefan Mauk. However, an 82nd-minute equaliser would prove devastating for Australia as this, and the result in the concurrent game placed UAE, Uzbekistan and Australia all on five points with Australia having the inferior goal difference and hence elimination from the tournament. Many observers sighted Australia's lack of desire to score more goals against Indonesia as the contributing factor to the elimination. Australia failed to qualify for the New Zealand 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. This is just the second time since 1989 that Australia hasn't competed in the biennial event.

2016 AFC U-19 Championship[edit]

Australia qualified for the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship that was held in Bahrain in October 2016. In the qualifiers hosted by Laos, they finished runner-up in their group and progressed on goal difference as one of the five best second placed teams. Comfortable wins over Philippines and Laos were followed by a heavy 3–0 loss to Japan. Steve Kuzmanovski finished as Australia's top scorer with three goals. This was the sixth consecutive U-19 Championship that Australia qualified for.

Australia was coached by Ufuk Talay for the tournament and was drawn into Group D. The opening fixture was a 1–0 victory against China through a goal to Mario Shabow. The second game was against Uzbekistan. The Uzbeks led by three until they suffered a send off. Australia then responded through two second half penalties to Liam Youlley and George Blackwood however the final result was a 3–2 win for Uzbekistan. Australia needed to win against Tajikistan in the final group game to progress. Anthony Kalik had an early penalty saved and was later sent off for two yellow cards. The game finished 0–0 and Australia were eliminated from the tournament. As a consequence, they also failed to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. This is the first time that Australia has failed to qualify for two consecutive U-20 World Cups.

2018 AFC U-19 Championship[edit]

The 2018 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by Indonesia in October and November. Australia commenced their qualification for the tournament in Vietnam.[10] The matches had originally been scheduled to be played in Shepparton, Victoria however the Australian government refused entry to the North Korean squad.[11] As a result, the matches were moved to neutral Vietnam although the costs associated with the shift in venue saw Northern Mariana Islands withdraw. This left just two opponents in the group, North Korea and Hong Kong. In Australia's first match against Hong Kong, Ramy Najjarine scored early and then a late double from Moudi Najjar gave Australia a 3–0 win.[12] They then defeated North Korea 4–1 with goals again to Najjarine and Najjar as well as Fabian Monge and Denis Genreau.[13]

With Ante Milicic now in charge, Australia started the tournament against South Korea in Bekasi. The Koreans scored first in the 55th minute however Najjarine curled in an 89th-minute equaliser to share the points.[14] The second match was against Vietnam which Australia won 2–1 through goals to Angus Thurgate and Ben Folami.[15] Reports emerged after the game that many of the Australian squad had been suffering from illness.[16] In their last group match against Jordan, Australia needed at least a draw to advance and they finished 1–1, with Oliver Puflett scoring the goal in the 10th minute.[17] In the quarter-final, Australia lost 3–1 to Saudi Arabia, with Nathaniel Atkinson scoring their only goal. Elimination at the quarter-final stage meant that Australia failed to qualify for the Under-20 World Cup for a record third consecutive time.[18]

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following 23 players were called up for the Marbella Week of Football U-18 International Tournament from 12 to 17 October 2023.[19][20]

Caps and goals correct as of the Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament game against Norway on 13 June 2023.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Steven Hall (2005-01-16) 16 January 2005 (age 19) 3 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion
1GK Anthony Pavlesic (2006-01-31) 31 January 2006 (age 18) 1 0 Germany Bayern Munich
1GK Max Vartuli (2005-01-20) 20 January 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Denmark Aalborg BK
2DF Joshua Inserra (2005-01-21) 21 January 2005 (age 19) 3 0 Australia Melbourne Victory
2DF Sebastian Esposito (2005-04-21) 21 April 2005 (age 18) 3 0 Italy Lecce
2DF Franco Lino (2005-08-26) 26 August 2005 (age 18) 3 0 Norway Viking
2DF Max Middleby (2005-12-01) 1 December 2005 (age 18) 3 1 United States LA Galaxy
2DF Harrison Shillington (2005-06-30) 30 June 2005 (age 18) 2 0 Australia Melbourne City
2DF Liam Bonetig (2005-08-20) 20 August 2005 (age 18) 0 0 Scotland Celtic
2DF Zach Lisolajski (2005-10-05) 5 October 2005 (age 18) 0 0 Australia Western United
2DF Bailey O'Neil (2006-02-02) 2 February 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Australia Adelaide United
3MF Alexander Badolato (2005-02-23) 23 February 2005 (age 19) 10 2 Australia Western Sydney Wanderers
3MF Paul Okon-Engstler (2005-01-24) 24 January 2005 (age 19) 3 0 Portugal Benfica
3MF Rhys Youlley (2005-02-13) 13 February 2005 (age 19) 3 0 Belgium Westerlo
3MF Zane Schreiber (2005-05-31) 31 May 2005 (age 18) 3 1 Australia Melbourne City
3MF Frans Deli (2005-06-08) 8 June 2005 (age 18) 3 0 Australia Macarthur
3MF Rawley St. John (2005-05-23) 23 May 2005 (age 18) 0 0 Germany VfB Stuttgart
3MF Fabian Talladira (2006-02-04) 4 February 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Australia Adelaide United
4FW Max Caputo (2005-08-17) 17 August 2005 (age 18) 4 3 Australia Melbourne City
4FW Matteo Mazzone (2005-03-07) 7 March 2005 (age 19) 3 2 Germany VfL Wolfsburg
4FW Luka Jovanovic (2005-05-20) 20 May 2005 (age 18) 3 1 Australia Adelaide United
4FW Thomas Waddingham (2005-04-05) 5 April 2005 (age 19) 2 2 Australia Brisbane Roar
4FW Bailey Brandtman (2005-06-28) 28 June 2005 (age 18) 2 2 Australia Central Coast Mariners

Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months and remain eligible for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Alexander Robinson (2005-03-09) 9 March 2005 (age 19) 1 0 Australia Macarthur Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament, 13 June 2023
DF Panagiotis Kikianis (2005-03-08) 8 March 2005 (age 19) 2 0 Australia Adelaide United Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament, 13 June 2023
DF Dimitri Valkanis (2005-10-18) 18 October 2005 (age 18) 0 0 Greece AEK Athens Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament, 13 June 2023
MF Marcus Younis (2005-07-03) 3 July 2005 (age 18) 3 1 Australia Western Sydney Wanderers Marbella Week of Football Tournament, 17 October 2023INJ
MF Jaden Gasking (2005-02-28) 28 February 2005 (age 19) 3 0 Portugal Boavista Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament, 13 June 2023
MF Emin Durakovic (2005-07-28) 28 July 2005 (age 18) 3 0 Australia Melbourne City Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament, 13 June 2023
FW Christian Naveen (2005-07-10) 10 July 2005 (age 18) 3 0 Australia Western United Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament, 13 June 2023
  • INJ Withdrew due to an injury.

Recent results and fixtures[edit]

2023[edit]

9 June FPF Sub-18 International Tournament Portugal  4–2  Australia Queluz, Portugal
18:00 WEST
  • Rêgo 41'
  • Semedo 45+1', 47', 51'
 Report
Stadium: Sports Complex Real Sport Clube
Referee: Pedro Ramalho (Portugal)
11 June FPF Sub-18 International Tournament England  3–2  Australia Oeiras, Portugal
 Report
Stadium: Cidade do Futebol
13 June FPF Sub-18 International Tournament Norway  1–2  Australia Oeiras, Portugal
 Report
Stadium: Cidade do Futebol
12 October Marbella Week of Football U-18 International Tournament Australia  1–1
(4–1 p)		  France Marbella, Spain
14:00 CEST
Report
Stadium: Marbella Football Centre
14 October Marbella Week of Football U-18 International Tournament Australia  1–1
(6–5 p)		  Netherlands Marbella, Spain
19:00 CEST
Report (FA)
Report (KNVB)
Stadium: Marbella Football Centre
17 October Marbella Week of Football U-18 International Tournament Australia  2–2
(7–6 p)		  Denmark Marbella, Spain
14:30 CEST
Report
Stadium: Marbella Football Centre

Records[edit]

Players with most appearances[edit]

As of 3 June 2012
Players in bold are still available for selection.
# Name Caps Goals
1 Tommy Oar 33 4
1 Mark Birighitti 33 0
3 Kofi Danning 30 3
4 Matthew Jurman 26 0
5 Ben Kantarovski 25 2
5 James Holland 25 5
7 Andrew Redmayne 24 0
7 Craig Moore 24 0
7 Scott McDonald 24 16
7 Dylan McGowan 24 4

Players with most Goals Scored[edit]

As of 23 June 2013
Players in bold are still available for selection.
# Name Goals Caps
1 Mark Viduka 32 20
2 Scott McDonald 16 24
3 Kostas Salapasidis 13 14
4 Kevork Gulesserian 12 12
5 Kerem Bulut 10 14
5 David Williams 10 12
7 Nick Carle 9 16
7 Jamie Maclaren 9 16
8 Ante Milicic 8 12
8 Michael Ferrante 8 10
8 Greg Owens 8 15

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA U-20 World Cup[edit]

OFC U-20 Championship[edit]

OFC U-20 Championship record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
French Polynesia 1974 did not participate
New Zealand 1978 Champion 1st 3 3 0 0 16 2
Fiji 1980 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 7 3
Papua New Guinea 1982 Champion 1st 4 4 0 0 15 4
Australia 1985 Champion 1st 5 5 0 0 20 4
New Zealand 1986 Champion 1st 4 3 1 0 16 1
Fiji 1988 Champion 1st 4 4 0 0 16 3
Fiji 1990 Champion 1st 4 4 0 0 22 0
French Polynesia 1992 did not participate
Fiji 1994 Champion 1st 5 5 0 0 29 0
French Polynesia 1997 Champion 1st 4 4 0 0 25 1
Samoa 1998 Champion 1st 5 5 0 0 23 2
Cook IslandsNew Caledonia 2001 Champion 1st 7 6 0 1 50 3
FijiVanuatu 2002 Champion 1st 4 4 0 0 23 0
Solomon Islands 2005 Champion 1st 5 5 0 0 46 5
Total 13/15 12 Titles 57 54 1 2 308 28

AFC U-20 Asian Cup[edit]

AFC U-20 Asian Cup record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
India 2006 Quarter finals 8th 4 2 0 2 6 4
Saudi Arabia 2008 Semi finals 3rd 5 3 1 1 6 6
China 2010 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 15 6
United Arab Emirates 2012 Semi finals 4th 5 2 2 1 6 4
Myanmar 2014 Group Stage 9th 3 1 2 0 3 2
Bahrain 2016 Group Stage 11th 3 1 1 1 3 3
Indonesia 2018 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 2 1 5 6
Uzbekistan 2020 Competition cancelled
Uzbekistan 2023 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 13 5
Total 8/8 0 Titles 34 16 10 8 57 36

AFF U-19 Youth Championship[edit]

AFF U-19 Youth Championship record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
Malaysia 2006 Champion 1st 3 3 0 0 8 0
Vietnam 2007 did not enter
Thailand 2008 Champion 1st 3 2 1 0 5 2
Vietnam 2009 Runner-up 2nd 5 2 2 1 11 4
Vietnam 2010 Champion 1st 3 2 1 0 6 2
Myanmar 2011 did not enter
Vietnam 2012 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 6 6
Indonesia 2013 Withdrew
Vietnam 2014 Group stage 5th 2 0 0 2 3 5
Laos 2015 Withdrew
Vietnam 2016 Champion 1st 7 6 0 1 21 10
Myanmar 2017 did not enter
Indonesia 2018
Vietnam 2019 Champion 1st 7 6 0 1 20 7
Indonesia 2022 did not enter
Total 8/15 5 Titles 33 22 4 5 80 36

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Australia bows out to Koreans", FFA, 7 November 2006
  2. ^ "Postecoglou Contract Not Renewed" Archived 13 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine, FFA, 8 February 2007
  3. ^ "New National Youth Coaches Appointed" Archived 13 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine, FFA, 5 March 2007
  4. ^ "AIS/U20 Head Coach named", FFA, 24 June 2008
  5. ^ "Qantas Young Socceroos named for Asean tournament" Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, FFA, 29 September 2008
  6. ^ "Qantas Young Socceroos win AFF U19 Championship" Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, FFA, 12 October 2008
  7. ^ "China to host AFC U-19 Championship Finals", AFC, 18 February 2010
  8. ^ "Paul Okon to coach national youth sides". Football Federation Australia. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Young Socceroos Draw". Adelaide Now. 11 October 2014.
  10. ^ "AFC U-19 Championship 2018 Qualifiers: Group J to be played in Hanoi". AFC. 13 October 2017.
  11. ^ Willoughby, James (9 October 2017). "Visa ban on North Korean football team forces major tournament offshore". The New Daily.
  12. ^ "Young Socceroos make winning start in Hanoi". Football Federation Australia. 5 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Young Socceroos qualify for Asian championship". The World Game. SBS. 9 November 2017.
  14. ^ Tan, Gabriel (19 October 2018). "AFC U-19 Championship: Australia deny Korea Republic at the death". Fox Sports.
  15. ^ "Young Socceroos sink valiant Vietnam". The World Game. SBS. 22 October 2018.
  16. ^ Greco, John (23 October 2018). "Milicic hails Young Socceroos after crucial win over Vietnam". Football Federation Australia.
  17. ^ "Young Socceroos survive Jordan onslaught". FTBL. 26 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Young Socceroos miss out on U20 World Cup after loss to Saudi Arabia". The World Game. SBS. 30 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Subway Young Socceroos squad named for Marbella Week of Football". Socceroos. Football Australia. 25 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Subway Young Socceroos squad update – Marbella Week of Football". Socceroos. Football Australia. 9 October 2023.

External links[edit]

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