Young Socceroos win Australia’s first Asian silverware

Australia have defeated the Korea Republic in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to win the ASEAN Football Federation U19 Championships in Thailand on Saturday.

 

Goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne was the hero for the Young Socceroos, making a number of fantastic saves during regulation time and three important saves during the penalty shoot-out.

Torrential rain started after half time and continued for the remainder of the match, severely restricting the number of scoring opportunities for either side. 

With the score locked at 0-0 and due to the extreme weather conditions, both teams and the tournament organisers agreed to determine the result by a penalty shoot-out without going to extra-time.

Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen was very happy with his team’s overall performance as he looks towards the next important tournament. “Every game we improved, the players had a better understanding of the combinations creating chances. It was pleasing to win the tournament. 

“Now we have to prepare for the qualifiers and I can see improvement that will give us confidence leading into the qualifiers,” concluded Versleijen.

The Young Socceroos will focus their attention to the AFC U19 Youth Championships which will be held in Saudi Arabia from the October 31 to November 14, 2008. The top four nations from the AFC U19 Youth Championships will qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup which will be held in Egypt from July 10-31, 2009.

Joeys knocked out at AFC Championships quarter final stage

Australia have been knocked out of the AFC U16 Championships after an injury-time winner to United Arab Emirates in the quarter finals of the tournament in Tashkent overnight.

Only hours before kick-off group D winners Yemen were disqualified for fielding an overage player. The decision meant that instead of facing Japan in their quarter final match the Joeys had to play the United Arab Emirates.

 

With the scores locked at 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes, and the match looking destined to go to extra time, Abdulla Mohammad’s goal for the UAE in the first minute of injury time gave his team the victory.

 

In the other quarter finals Iran beat Syria 2-0, Korea Republic eased past host nation Uzbekistan 3-0 and Japan defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0.

 

Iran will play Saudi Arabia in one semi final, while Korea will meet Japan in the other, with both matches being played on Wednesday. The final will be played on Saturday, October 18 in Tashkent.

 

The top four teams at the AFC Championship tournament will qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup 2009 to be played in Nigeria.

Verbeek names final squad for Qatar qualifier

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Matildas heading to ASEAN Championships

Matildas coach Tom Sermanni has named 18 players for the upcoming ASEAN Womens Football Championships to be held in Ho Chi Minh City, October 9-21.

The squad includes a mixture of youth and experience, with the younger players having participated in friendly matches against China in Canberra during the past seven days.

“What is pleasing about the squad is that it highlights just how much talent we have in women’s football in Australia,” said Sermanni.

“This tournament gives the next generation of players coming through for the Matildas the opportunity to gain some valuable international match experience, as well as step up to the next level.”

The Matildas will meet Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore in their group matches. They depart for Vietnam on Monday.

The Westfield W-League is set to kick-off after the end of the ASEAN Championship on Friday, October 24.

Matildas squad:
Goalkeepers: Melissa BARBIERI, Lydia WILLIAMS.
Defenders: Kim CARROLL, Lyndsay GLOHE, Clare POLKINGHORNE, Brooke SPENCE, Christine WALTERS.
Midfielders: Tameka BUTT, Amy CHAPMAN, Lauren COLTHORPE, Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT, Ella MASTRANTONIO, Renee ROLLASON, Yesim Servet UZUNLAR.
Forwards: Victoria BALOMENOS, Leena KHAMIS, Ashleigh SYKES, Jenna TRISTRAM.

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Tashkent thoughts

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SCOTT CHIPPERFIELD got the only goal of the game thanks to a pin-point cross from fellow Wollongong Boy Luke Wilkshire for his second assist in as many games. This was a perfect start for Pim’s boys as they confidently put Uzbekistan away for a 1-0 win in Tashkent.

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