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Rarely does a national team coach declare a winless and pointless tournament a successful one, but Young Socceroos boss Jan Versleijen can’t help but smile.
The Young Socceroos of 2009 will ultimately go down as the worst-performed Australian team at a FIFA U-20 World Cup in the tournament’s 32-year history, following successive losses against the Czech Republic (2-1), Costa Rica (3-0) and Brazil (3-1).
However, Versleijen is quick to point out that five of the starters against Brazil in Port Said ago will again be eligible to play at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia – a greater quota than the majority of nations on show in Egypt.
Kofi Danning, Sam Gallagher, Rhyan Grant, Ben Kantarovski and Tommy Oar are all eligible to star again for the Young Socceroos in 2011, providing Versleijen can again secure Australia’s passage through to the world’s premier youth football tournament.
“It’s very nice to see that in the game (against Brazil) five of the 11 starting players are still eligible for the new Young Socceroos,” Versleijen said.
“That gives good hope for the future. Those players already played a World Cup.
“Hopefully those players can give a lot of experience to the other ones coming with this group.”
Qualification for Colombia begins next month, when the Young Socceroos commence their 2011 U-20 World Cup journey in Indonesia.
Australia will need to finish in the top two of a six-team group that also consists of Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan, in order to qualify for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championships, Asia’s qualifying tournament for the 2011 U-20 World Cup.
The unquestioned jewel of the next generation of Young Socceroos is Newcastle Jets midfielder Kantarovski, who not only coped with his first taste of World Cup football, but excelled.
The 17-year-old will sit the HSC soon after his return to Australia. He started all three of Australia’s group matches and was singled out for praise by his coach as the team’s most consistent player.
“He already has two years, one-and-a-half years experience in the A-League, but for his age he’s unbelievably mature in the way of playing,” Versleijen said.
“I think he played a very good tournament.”
Beyond the next class of Young Socceroos, many of the 21 talents on show in Egypt put their hands up for selection for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, where it is possible that Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek will draft some youngsters into his 23-man squad.
Much like Guus Hiddink did with the 20-year-old Mark Milligan in Germany in 2006, Verbeek could yet call upon one or more of Australia’s brightest prospects.
Captain James Holland and midfield partner Aaron Mooy will have enhanced their chances considerably, along with Kantarovski and Ghana-born excitement machine Danning.
“Hopefully they can use that experience to become better player individually, but hopefully also they can use that experience to bring Australian football on a higher level,” Versleijen said.
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