Australia locks in squad for Shepparton qualifiers

Adelaide United forward Nestory Irankunda will be one player that Shepparton soccer fans are sure to be excited about, with the 16-year-old attacker playing 13 A-League games last season.

Named on Saturday after an intense two-week training camp in Melbourne, the squad ― coached by Brad Maloney ― will be looking to qualify for next year’s Asian Cup in Bahrain.

“We’ve had an excellent two weeks in camp and set a strong foundation for the program, not just for this qualifying tournament, but for the years ahead,” Maloney said.

“Competition across all positions was strong, which made selecting the final 23 players challenging. In the end, we’ve chosen what we consider to be the best available squad for what will be a testing tournament format with three matches inside five days.”

The first international activity for the Joeys since 2019 and the first time Australia has hosted a qualification group or qualifiers for an AFC Youth tournament since 2009, the youngsters will be hoping to put their best foot forward on home soil.

“We have to respect our opposition, it’s going to be a tough group,” Maloney said.

“We don’t know a lot about the opposition because of the hiatus in the last couple of years, but we expect challenging matches from all three teams.

“Countries throughout south east Asia and east Asia are investing heavily in the game, particularly at the youth level and development.

“I know the Cambodian team have a core group of players that have been together for a long time now preparing for this tournament and China have been in Australia for almost a month, so they’re taking it very seriously and we know we have a tough assignment ahead in Shepparton.”

Kicking off on Wednesday at 3pm, tickets for the Shepparton qualifiers are available for free online at www.eventbrite.com/cc/afc-u17-asian-cup-qualifiers-group-g-1089649

Pick up a copy of Wednesday’s News for a full preview of the tournament.