Subway Olyroos’ Head Coach, Tony Vidmar has made further changes to his 23-man squad ahead of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024TM Qualifiers being held in Tajikistan during September, with both Jacob Farrell (Central Coast Mariners FC) and Calem Nieuwenhof (Heart of Midlothian FC) having to withdraw due to injury.
Farrell will be replaced by Matthew Dench from Charlton Athletic FC (Youth), while Chris Donnell of Fulham FC (Youth) comes in for Nieuwenhof.
Hailing from Western Australia and at just 19-years-of-age, both Dench and Donnell have previously spent time with Subway Olyroos’ Assistant and Young Socceroos’ Head Coach, Trevor Morgan within Australia’s Under 20 program.
This latest news follows the recent withdrawal of Mohamed Toure (Paris FC), who was replaced by Jahce Novello (Cosenza Calcio) last week.
Australia have been drawn into Group I and will face Laos and Tajikistan in a three-team group, following the recent withdrawal of the DPR Korea from qualification.
Vidmar’s squad have started to assemble in Dushanbe to commence their preparations for group games scheduled for September 6 (Laos) and 12 (Tajikistan) at the Republican Central Stadium.
To qualify for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024TM, Australia will need to finish as group winner or be one of the four best second placed teams among all eleven groups.
If the Subway Olyroos are successful in qualifying for next year’s AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024TM, the tournament will also double as a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they need to finish in the top three to automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics as the AFC representatives, while the fourth-best team will play an AFC-CAF play-off match for the final qualification spot.
SUBWAY OLYROOS SQUAD | AFC U23 ASIAN CUPTM QATAR 2024 QUALIFIERS | 30 AUG – 12 SEPT
NAME | POSITION | CLUB | JUNIOR FOOTBALL CLUB |
BILITY, Hosine | DF | CD Mafra | Croydon Kings FC (Football South Australia) |
BILOKAPIC, Nicholas (Gk) | GK | Peterborough United FC | Sydney United 58 FC (Football New South Wales) |
BOTIC, Noah | FW | Western United FC | Hurstville ZFC (Football New South Wales) |
BROOK, Lachlan | FW | Western Sydney Wanderers FC | Gawler Eagles FC (Football South Australia) |
COOK, Cameron (Gk) | GK | Perth Glory FC | Vikings FC (Football Northern Territory) |
COURTNEY-PERKINS, Jordan | DF | Rakow Czestochowa | Newmarket SFC (Football Queensland) |
COX, Ethan (Gk) | GK | Adelaide United FC | Salisbury United FC (Football South Australia) |
D’ARRIGO, Louis | MF | Unattached | West Torrens Birkalla SC (Football South Australia) |
DENCH, Matthew | DF | Charlton Athletic (Youth) | ECU Joondalup (Football West) |
DONNELL, Chris | MF | Fulham FC (Youth) | Rockingham City FC (Football West) |
FRANCOIS, Marlee | FW | Bristol City FC (Youth) | Camden Tigers FC (Football New South Wales) |
HOLLMAN, Jake | MF | Macarthur FC | Seaforth FC (Football New South Wales) |
KUOL, Alou | FW | Central Coast Mariners FC | Shepparton SC (Football Victoria) |
MAURAGIS, Lucas | DF | Newcastle Jets FC | Merimbula Grasshoppers FC (Football New South Wales) |
NOVELLO, Jahce | FW | Cosenza Calcio | South West Phoenix FC (Football West) |
PEUPION, Cameron | FW | Brighton Hove & Albion FC (Youth) | Wakehurst FC (Football New South Wales) |
RAWLINS, Joshua | DF | FC Utrecht II | Dianella Junior SC (Football West) |
TALBOT, Callum | DF | Melbourne City FC | Gymea United FC (Football New South Wales) |
TEAGUE, Ryan | MF | FC Famalicao U23 | Maroubra United FC (Football New South Wales) |
TREWIN, Kai | DF | Brisbane Roar FC | Gungahlin United FC (Capital Football) |
TRIANTIS, Nectarios | DF | Sunderland AFC | Canterbury Junior FC (Football New South Wales) |
VELUPILLAY, Nishan | FW | Melbourne Victory FC | Endeavour United SC (Football Victoria) |
YAZBEK, Patrick | MF | Viking FK | Austral Soccer Club (Football New South Wales) |
AFC U23 ASIAN CUPTM QATAR 2024 QUALIFIERS – GROUP I
Laos v Australia
Date: Wednesday, 6 September 2023
Time: 8:30pm (local) / 1:30am AEST (Thursday, 7 September)
Republican Central Stadium, Dushanbe
Australia v Tajikistan
Date: Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Time: 8:30pm (local) / 1:30am AEST (Wednesday, 13 September)
Republican Central Stadium, Dushanbe
