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Brook named in Subway Olyroos’ squad for Saudi Arabian friendlies

Subway Olyroos’ Head Coach, Tony Vidmar has named an extended 24-man squad for a series of upcoming friendlies during the November FIFA Men’s International Window, to be held in Saudi Arabia.

The Subway Olyroos will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as their preparation for the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024 begin to intensify.

The fixtures – scheduled for Friday, 17 November (Qatar) and Tuesday, 21 November (Saudi Arabia) – will be played at Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, providing Vidmar’s squad with the invaluable opportunity to spend time together as a group while facing quality opposition.

Subway Olyroos’ Head Coach, Tony Vidmar said this is the beginning of an important period within the U-23 program.

“There’s been some really positive results in recent camps at the Maurice Rovello Tournament and in securing qualification for the U-23 Asian Cup,” Vidmar said.

“Those are important for the confidence and belief within this group, as we build towards a phase of competition that is significant within our program.

“We’ve spoken about what success at an Asian Cup and in turn, Olympic qualification looks like for the players individually and as a collective – there’s real excitement as 2024 approaches.”

Vidmar added that these upcoming friendlies offered a variety of benefits to his wider squad.

“We’ve secured games against teams who will provide a different challenge to those we’ve recently faced, in very similar conditions to what we’ll see in Doha next year – in terms of acclimatising the squad it ticks several boxes,” Vidmar said.

“There are four available matches to prepare ahead of our first Asian Cup group game, so every part of our preparation needs to be geared towards that, ensuring we can be at our best and effectively execute our plans on the pitch.”

Vidmar’s squad features several returning faces from the team that successfully secured AFC U-23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024 qualification, including Calem Nieuwenhof (Heart of Midlothian FC), Nectarios Triantis (Sunderland AFC) and Patrick Yazbek (Viking FK).

While a contingent of Isuzu UTE A-League talent in Callum Talbot (Melbourne City FC), Lachlan Brook (Western Sydney Wanderers FC), Noah Botic (Western United FC) and Ryan Teague (Melbourne Victory FC) will also make the trip to Saudi Arabia.

Adrian Segecic (FC Dordrecht) has been named following strong performances in the Eerste Divisie, while Marco Tilio (Celtic FC) also returns to the Subway Olyroos following recovery from injury.

Patrick Beach (Melbourne City FC) and Jack Warshawsky (Central Coast Mariners FC) have also been included as train on selections, with one player to be included in the official 23-man squad prior to official matches commencing – with all players remaining with the squad throughout the window.

With a clear focus on preparation for the AFC U23 Asian Cup™ Qatar 2024, Vidmar said this camp and his selections would help build necessary depth across the squad.

“We’ve got some fantastic young players coming through, playing for clubs in Australia and across Europe,” Vidmar said.

“It’s important for us to ensure we have a squad that is familiar with our environment, as they may be called upon throughout our Asian Cup campaign or beyond – be it due to injuries or player availability. Having a wider group of players all on the same page is an important element to any success we collectively strive for.”

The Subway Olyroos are one of 16 teams who have qualified for the AFC U23 Asian CupTM Qatar 2024, should they finish in the top three they will automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics as the AFC representatives, while the fourth-best team will play an AFC-CAF play-off match for the final qualification spot. 

SUBWAY OLYROOS SQUAD | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES, SAUDI ARABIA | 13 NOV – 21 NOV

NAMEPOSITIONCLUBJUNIOR FOOTBALL CLUB
Raphael BORGES RODRIGUESFWMacarthur FCWestern Strikers SC (Football South Australia)
Noah BOTICFWWestern United FCHurstville ZFC (Football New South Wales)
Lachlan BROOKFWWestern Sydney Wanderers FCGawler Eagles FC (Football South Australia)
Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINSDFSydney FCNewmarket SFC (Football Queensland)
Louis D’ARRIGOMFLechia Gdansk (Poland)West Torrens Birkalla SC (Football South Australia)
Jacob FARRELLDFCentral Coast Mariners FCWyoming FC (Football New South Wales)
Steven HALL (Gk)GKAdelaide United FCPara Hills Knights SC (Football South Australia)
Jake HOLLMANMFMacarthur FCSeaforth FC (Football New South Wales)
Jacob ITALIANODFBorussia Monchengladbach II (Germany)Inglewood United FC (Football West)
Lucas MAURAGISDFNewcastle Jets FCMerimbula Grasshoppers FC (Football New South Wales)
Calem NIEUWENHOFMFHeart of Midlothian FC (Scotland)Curl Curl FC (Football New South Wales)
Adam PAVLESIC (Gk)GKSydney FCSydney United 58 FC (Football NSW)
Alexandar POPOVICDFAdelaide United FCAdelaide Comets FC (Football South Australia)
Adrian SEGECICMFFC Dordrecht (Netherlands)Lidcombe Waratah Junior SC (Football NSW)
Callum TALBOTDFMelbourne City FCGymea United FC (Football New South Wales)
Ryan TEAGUEMFMelbourne VictoryMaroubra United FC (Football New South Wales)
Marco TILIOMFCeltic FC (Scotland)APIA Leichhardt FC & Sydney Olympic FC (Football NSW)
Mohamed TOUREFWParis FC (France)Croydon Kings FC (Football South Australia)
Kai TREWINDFBrisbane Roar FCGungahlin United FC (Capital Football)
Nectarios TRIANTISDFSunderland AFC (England)Canterbury Junior FC (Football New South Wales)
Nishan  VELUPILLAYFWMelbourne Victory FCEndeavour United SC (Football Victoria)
Patrick YAZBEKMFViking FK (Norway)Austral Soccer Club (Football New South Wales)
TRAIN ON PLAYERS
Patrick BEACH (Gk)GKMelbourne City FCGlenmore Park FC (Football NSW)
Jack WARSHAWSKY (Gk)GKCentral Coast Mariners FCBuderim Wanderers FC (Football Queensland)

SUBWAY OLYROOS SQUAD | MATCH SCHEDULE

Australia U23 v Qatar U23
Friday, 17 November 2023 
Kick-off: TBC
Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia U23 v Australia U23
Tuesday, 21 November 2023 
Kick-off: TBC
Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, Saudi Arabia