PGFC Academy trio Daniel Walsh, Joshua Rawlins and Trent Ostler (pictured) have been named in the Joeys (Under-17) squad which will travel to the UK next week to play three important international friendlies ahead of this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Trevor Morgan has selected 23 players for the trip which will feature games against England, Korea Republic, and Brazil on September 6, 8, and 10 (local time) respectively.
The trip forms a key part of the Joeys’ preparations for the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup which gets underway in Brazil in late October and will see the Aussies tackle Ecuador, Hungary and Nigeria during the group stage.
“I am delighted that we have the opportunity to travel to England to play three important fixtures ahead of this year’s U-17 World Cup,” said Morgan.
“We will commence the camp with five days of training at St George’s Park before shifting into match mode for our fixtures against England, Korea Republic, and Brazil.
“The time together and our games will provide all the players involved with another chance to impress ahead of the final selection for the squad for Brazil and, as a unit, we will be seeking to advance our principles of play and perform at a high standard against strong opponents not dissimilar to those we will face at the World Cup.
“We appreciate the invite from the Football Association to travel to England and also recognise the work that has been done behind the scenes by many people at FFA to bring this development opportunity to life for the group.
Australia qualified for this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup last September when the team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship held in Malaysia.
The Joeys will be one of Asia’s four representatives at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019, alongside Japan, Korea Republic and Tajikistan.
Australia’s first FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019 match will take place on Saturday, 26 October against Ecuador at the Estadio Olimpico in Goiania.
Morgan’s side will then take on Hungary in the same city and stadium three days later, before shifting base to Brasilia (Gama) for the third and final group game against Nigeria at the Estadio Bezerrao on Friday 1 November 2019.
The top two teams from each group, plus the four best third-placed teams will advance to the Round of 16.
Ostler, Walsh and Rawlins have all featured on a regular basis for the PGFC Academy teams in recent years, with the latter also making a substitute appearance in July’s friendly against Manchester United at Optus Stadium.
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