Trio named in Young Socceroos squad

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Melbourne Victory youngsters Chris Cristaldo, Dylan Murnane and ‘keeper Luke Radonich will head to Spain this month, as Paul Okon names his latest Young Socceroos squad.

Melbourne Victory youngsters Chris Cristaldo, Dylan Murnane and ‘keeper Luke Radonich will head to Spain this month, as Paul Okon names his latest Young Socceroos squad.

Cristaldo, 18, and Murnane, 18, both featured in the Hyundai A-League last season, while Radonich, 18, was on the bench for the club’s recent clash with Liverpool.

Young Socceroos Head Coach Paul Okon today named a 20-Player Squad for the upcoming COTIF U-19 International Football tournament which will be held in L’AlcĂşdia, Spain from 12-21 August 2013.

Okon has selected 16 Australian-based and 4 players from overseas-based clubs.

Okon is looking forward to the start of the new FIFA U-20 World Cup qualification campaign.

“This is the first stage of a new campaign with a new playing group,” said Okon

“We had originally planned to have a training camp prior to the tournament to have a look at a larger group of overseas based players to possibly have included in this squad, but due to a number injuries he have had to postpone that camp until later in the year.

“This (COTIF) Tournament is a very good one with four tough matches which include Spain and Mexico.

“This will be our first opportunity to develop our playing style and test ourselves against quality opposition,” concluded Okon

This is the 30th edition of the COTIF Tournament and will involve ten U-19 Men-s National teams from Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Spain.

All matches will be played at the Estadio Municipal Els Arcs De L’AlcĂşdia.

This will be the first competitive outing for this group of players who are looking to eventually qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup which will be held in New Zealand. The first stage of this qualification process is the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers which will be held in Hong Kong from 3 to 11 October 2013.

Young Socceroos Squad List – COTIF Tournament, L’AlcĂşdia, Spain – 12-21 August 2013

Anthony BOUZANIS (gk)
Sydney FC, Australia
James BALDACCHINO
Western Sydney Wanderers, Australia
Nicholas COWBURN
Newcastle Jets, Australia
Christopher CRISTALDO
Melbourne Victory, Australia

Matthew DAVIES
Perth Glory, Australia
Ben GARUCCIO
Melbourne Heart, Australia
Christopher IKONOMIDIS
SS Lazio, Italy
Rafa JIMENEZ
Villarreal CF, Spain
Hagi GLIGOR
Sydney FC, Australia
Awer MABIL
Adelaide United, Australia
Peter MAKRILLOS
Stoke City, England
Stefan MAUK
Melbourne Heart, Australia
Jacob MELLING
Adelaide United, Australia
Dylan MURNANE
Melbourne Victory, Australia

Christopher NAUMOFF
Sydney FC, Australia
Peter SKAPETIS
Queens Park Rangers, England
Nicholas OLSEN
Western Sydney Wanderers, Australia
Mitchell OXBORROW
Newcastle Jets, Australia
Luke RADONICH (gk)
Melbourne Victory, Australia

Riley WOODCOCK
Perth Glory, Australia