Five Wanderers named in Joeys venture to Vietnam

Wanderers Academy players Alex Denmead, Alessandro Lopane, Nicholas Pannucio, Matthew Scarcella and Thomas Stobierski have been named in Australia’s U-17 squad for this month’s AFC U-16 Championship qualification matches to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

The Wanderers, tied with their cross-city rivals Sydney FC, have the largest amount of representatives in the 23-player squad. 

The youngsters – who represent Australia’s younger Joeys age group and not the older cohort set to venture to this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil – will contest Group H of qualifying in Vietnam and will come up against the host nation, Timor-Leste, Mongolia, and Macau.

Australia will need to top its qualification group or finish as one of the four best second-placed teams across the 11 groups to advance to the 2020 AFC U-16 Championship.

The 2020 AFC U-16 Championship serves as the qualification tournament for the 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup, with four nations set to advance from that tournament as Asia’s representatives at the prestigious world youth competition. 

“Many of the players involved in our squad for the upcoming fixtures in Hanoi recently played their first international matches at the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship in Thailand,” Morgan said. 

“We could see the growth of many of the players as they secured three wins and a draw from their five games in Chonburi, and during this qualification tournament we are expecting to see further development individually and collectively with the sizeable prize in the form of qualification for the 2020 AFC U-16 Championship on the line.

“We will also welcome some new players into the group for the trip to Vietnam, and I am excited to see how they adapt to the challenge and opportunity of representing our nation at youth level,” he said. 

With Morgan currently in the United Kingdom with the older Joeys age group as they prepare for friendly internationals against England, Brazil, and Korea Republic over the coming week, Michael Cooper will guide the younger Joeys age group throughout their pre-departure camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) between September 9 and 11. 

Cooper will be assisted by Airton Andrioli from Football Federation South Australia and Pat Hedges from Football Queensland, as they offer their youth development expertise to the Joeys.

The Joeys will play all of their four fixtures in Hanoi at the National Youth Football Training Centre in Hanoi, with their first fixture against Mongolia taking place on Monday, 16 September 2019.

Joeys 23-Player Squad | 2020 AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers (Group H) | September 14 – 22 2019 | Hanoi, Vietnam

Joeys | Match Schedule | 2020 AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers (Group H)

Mongolia v Australia
Date: Monday, 16 September 2019
Venue: National Youth Football Training Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local); 10.00pm (AEST)

Australia v Macau
Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Venue: National Youth Football Training Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local); 10.00pm (AEST)

Timor-Leste v Australia
Date: Friday, 20 September 2019
Venue: National Youth Football Training Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam
Kick-off: 4.00pm (local); 7.00pm (AEST)

Australia v Vietnam
Sunday, 22 September 2019
Venue: National Youth Football Training Centre, Hanoi, Vietnam
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local); 10.00pm (AEST)