Three Wanderers named in Joeys squad for upcoming camp

Leonardo Belz, Peter Grozos and Oliver Kalac from the Wanderers Academy have all been named in the 28-man Joeys squad set to assemble in Sydney.

Australia’s best young male footballers are being brought together in Sydney over the next week with new Joeys Head Coach Trevor Morgan to prepare for the 2018 AFC U16 Championship in Malaysia.

From today, 28 of Australia’s brightest young footballers will gather at the Sydney Academy of Sport at Narrabeen to impress Morgan and his staff throughout what will be the first of two camps held in Australia prior to the tournament proper in September and October this year. 

The 28 players selected by Morgan arrive in camp after an extensive period of scouting. During April and May this year, Morgan, alongside Joeys Team Manager, Marty Judge, ventured around Australia and conducted ‘Joeys Talent ID Camps’ in conjunction with Member Federations. Each ‘Joeys Talent ID Camp’ featured between 25 and 30 talented players identified by the host Member Federation.

Twenty players are aligned with Hyundai A-League club academies. A further six players feature at National Premier Leagues (NPL) level across Australia, while two players – Aydan Hammond and Emmanuel Pavlis – are contracted to clubs in Europe.

Australia qualified for the 2018 AFC U16 Championship in Malaysia after topping Group I of the qualification process in Mongolia last September. The Joeys finished ahead of Vietnam, Cambodia and Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar.

In April the Joeys were drawn in a challenging Group D for the 2018 AFC U16 Championship. Australia will need to finish first or second in a group containing defending champions Iraq, Korea Republic, and Afghanistan, to advance to the knockout phase of the competition. To qualify as one of Asia’s representatives for the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup in Peru (October 2019) Australia must reach at the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. 

“I am excited by the opportunity and honoured by the responsibility that goes with this role,” Morgan said regarding his appointment to the Joeys post. “The work will be about unearthing and nurturing talent to build quality and depth in our junior National Teams.”

“We will go to Malaysia with a purpose, to progress to the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup. As a team we want to face the challenge head on, playing our football against the best teams from around the globe, and we can only do this by making it to Peru.”

Football Federation Australia’s (FFA) Head of National Performance, Luke Casserly, said Morgan’s appointment was well deserved.

“Trevor has been coaching in Australia for over 20 years and with this group specifically for the past 12 months,” said Casserly. “He is the logical appointment for the role and benefited greatly from a recent professional development opportunity with the Caltex Socceroos ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. We know Trevor will do an excellent job with this group of players.” 

Joeys 28-player squad for July 2018 training camp in Sydney (13 July – 19 July)

Joeys 2018 AFC U16 Championship Match Schedule – Group D 

Korea Republic v Australia

Saturday, 22 September 2018
Venue: Petaling Jaya Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kick-off: 8.45pm (local); 10.45pm (AEST)

Australia v Iraq
Tuesday, 25 September 2018
Venue: UM Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kick-off: 4.30pm (local); 6.30pm (AEST)

Australia v Afghanistan
Friday, 28 September 2018
Venue: Petaling Jaya Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kick-off: 4.30pm (local); 6.30pm (AEST)