NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers players Nicholas Olsen and Thomas Manos have been selected to represent the Young Socceroos in the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 3-7 October 2013.
NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers players Nicholas Olsen and Thomas Manos have been selected to represent the Young Socceroos in the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 3-7 October 2013.
For young players like Olsen, national team camps provide a great way to complement the learning environment they have at the Wanderers.
“The big advantage of being in the national set-up is being with players that have the same ambition and qualities as you,” Olsen said.
“Even the ones that have different qualities you can learn off and use them to make you a better player.”
With two representatives from Western Sydney Olsen believes that the club provides a perfect home for developing players.
“Tony Popovic has had one of the biggest influences in my career so far,” he said.
“He-s taught me a lot of things and always pushes me to do more – just as he does with every player. He-ll always tell me the good, the bad and what I can improve on.
“In the first team especially you-re always being pushed to be the best you can be with everything inside and outside of football. That culture helps a lot of our players to get the opportunity at a national level.”
Having joined the Wanderers A-League squad, Olsen is having the most successful period of his career and is looking forward to national camp to capitalise on his momentum.
“This time in Malaysia I hope to get to know the team better, play better and improve on what I have to so I can help the team out.
“Having signed my first contract at the Wanderers I-m pretty excited to be in the environment and improve as much as I can as a player.
The Young Socceroos will depart Australia this Friday and will line-up against Hong Kong in their first match of the tournament on Thursday 3 October. The Young Socceroos will then face Chinese Taipei (Saturday 5 October) and Vietnam (Monday 7 October).
The Group winners of the nine groups (five from West Zone and four from the East Zone) along with the six best-placed sides and hosts Myanmar will qualify for the AFC U-19 Championship which will be held in October 2014.
The AFC U-19 Championship also serve as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the top-four sides of the 2014 edition booking a place each in the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in New Zealand in 2015.
