In the dizzying wake of Cadel Evans’ extraordinary success in France, Australian sporting fans can be forgiven for frantically searching for where their next hit will come from.
While there’s indeed the world championships of swimming in Shanghai along with the women’s under-19 basketball world championships in Chile, the next main treat on offer is FIFA’s under-20 World Cup which, kicks off in Colombia this weekend.
The Young Socceroos have sent a team widely considered to be a once in a generation type squad, with an expectation that this crop of youngsters can go far in Colombia with a quarter-final berth by no means beyond the realms of possibility.
Leading into the tournament there’s, however, a query over the technical acumen of coach Jan Versleijen and chiefly his ability to instill the dynamic, interchangeable and possession orientated game which has been his charge to implement.
At the recent under-17 World Cup in Mexico, Versleijen’s Joey’s failed to grasp the 4-3-3 system and progressed out of the group stage thanks only to a scheduling quirk.
They were soon crushed by Uzbekistan 4-0 and departed Mexico with as many red cards as goals.
Most alarming, however, was that in the face of sustained pressure, the team reverted to an unsophisticated long ball and overly panicked game.
With Versleijen’s present contract set to expire at the end of the year, the Young Socceroos performance in Colombia will go a long way toward determining whether he’s indeed the most ideal candidate to be in charge of Australia’s youth stocks.
The Australians haven’t exactly been dealt the kindest of draws for the World Cup with games scheduled against Ecuador, Costa Rica and reigning men’s world champions, Spain. It’s a group that tricky, but not insurmountable.
The campaign begins on Monday morning with an assignment against Ecuador in Manizales, Colombia’s coffee epicentre. The squad should be buoyed by lead in form which saw them runners up in last year’s Asian Cup along with a friendly victory over Germany in May.
They’ve recently been based in Colorado to acclimatise to the elevation of Colombia, and in modified games against South Korea and England have performed steadily.
A concern for team is a couple of the absentees which include Mathew Leckie and Brent McGrath, whose German and Danish clubs have both stubbornly refused to make the players available for Colombia. It’s a significant blow as both may have indeed started up forward together.
Fortunately, Brisbane Roar’s Kofi Danning and Czech based Kerem Bulut are capable of filling the void while Central Coast’s Bernie Ibini will use the opportunity to shine. The blistering speed of Tommy Oar down the wings should create havoc for defenders.
The true strength of this Australian team, however, lies in the midfield where they’ll be lead by the iconic Mustafa Amini and team captain Ben Kantarovski.
Crucially, central midfield in tournament play is pivotal to a team’s prospects and for the Australian’s to have two of their most technically accomplished players operating there gives the squad a significant boost.
Amini and Kantasrovski will be assisted by Sydney FC’s Rhyan Grant, who operates as an energetic midfielder capable of covering plenty of yards. With players the calibre of Dimitri Petratos and Terry Anotis coming off the bench, the Australians are blessed with an array of talented depth in the most crucial area of the park.
At the back Australia looks solid with the experienced central pairing of Melbourne Heart’s Brendan Hamill along with Dylan McGowan.
The wing back positions are expected to be filled by Central Coast youth team products Trent Sainsbury and Sam Gallagher. Adelaide’s Mark Birighitti will keep goal however it’s curious that Mariner’s Matt Ryan – so inspirational in his debut A-League season – couldn’t crack into Versleijen’s final 21-man squad.
Like all tournaments the first game will be critical to the team’s chances and the young Socceroos must look for a win against perhaps the group’s most inferior team in Ecuador who’ll be competing in just their second under-20 World Cup, and their first in more than ten years.
An Australian youth soccer team hasn’t made a dent in a world tournament since 1999 when the Joey’s made the final of the under-17 World Cup in New Zealand.
An under-20 team hasn’t progressed past the group stage since Qatar 1995. In that tournament a certain Mark Viduka scored four goals in the group stage while one Josip Skoko started each game and Clint Bolton kept goal.
Progression to the quarters or perhaps the semis won’t surpass Cadel’s efforts in France – it’s hard to imagine what Australian sporting performance will in the coming years – however, a strong performance will go a long way in assuring Australian soccer fans that the future’s in good shape.
A group stage exit, coupled with the substandard performance by the Joeys in Mexico last month would, however, raise some serious questions.
By lunchtime Monday, we’ll have a good picture of what the Socceroos may look like in the coming years.
Realfootball
Guest
And my earlier post about this team looks eirily prescient. Awful fullbacks, slow donkeys for centrebacks. McGowan is way short of class at this level. Didn't pick how outclassed Amini would be, though. He looked very, very ordinary. And I've been saying this for several years, but Oar isn't fast enough, is overrated (one free kick does not make a summer) and I will be astonished if he makes it at the top level. Antonis looked very good, Bulut never stopped running. Birghitti was excellent. Apart from that, nothing. Versleijen needs to go after this tournament. Picked the wrong players, played them out of position. Unforgivable. The man is utterly incompetent.
asanchez
Roar Guru
Lets be honest, without Birigitti in goals we would've been slaughtered this morning. I don't like our style of play. I think this Dutch way of play is actually starting to restrict our players from expressing themselves. I'm over this 'Dutch way is better' crap, this coach needs to go. He coaches both the Joeys and the Young Socceroos, and you could see the same flaws in our style in both team at different age levels. What ever happened to giving young Australian coaches a chance. I know what happened to Postecoglou in those days, but I feel there's no level of accountably with these guys because they are 'foreign' coaches. We do need to learn from different styles, but at the end of the day, we need to develop our own style.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Tommy Oar hits a screamer to earn the U20's a life line. Reflecting on the match I have just seen for me it's the same old story our guys are technically not as good as our opponents. I'm not so fussed about trying to play whatever system it is---if it is a 4-5-1, 4-4-2, or the preferred 4-3-3. For me the most important part of our development is, that we have to send out teams with greater technical skill than our opponents. We have to drill our guys a lot better... i.e. 1) better on the ball control, 2) better protection of the ball, 3) better passing with greater accuracy.. Get these fundamentals right then we will win games.
Realfootball
Guest
Geez, Mid, getting a big carried away there, mate. Horrible song. . One long series of sugary cliches from end to end. Not old Wiggy's finest hour. Give me Kodachrome any day. Those nice bright colours...
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Just a reminder to everyone that the U20s are on at 9am tomorrow morning.
Midfielder
Guest
Seems apt to me replace girl with Young Socceroos & I am, with Australia Taken from Simon And Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water Sail on Silver Girl, Sail on by Your time has come to shine All your dreams are on their way See how they shine If you need a friend I'm sailing right behind Like a bridge over troubled water
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
With Football, there will always be some international tournament taking place each year, with tournaments usually held during the European off-season (June, July, August). So, to answer your question: a) the Australian Women's National Football Team participated in the FIFA WC in Germany during July b) the Australian u17 Men's National Football Team participated in the FIFA WC in Mexico during June; and c) the Australian u20 Men's National Football Team will participate in the FIFA WC in Colombia ... opening match against Ecuador tomorrow morning LIVE on SBS TV. And, this morning in Rio de Janeiro, the draw for the 2014 FIFA Men's World Cup was held and d) the Australian Men's National Football team will participate in qualifying matches for the 2014 FIFA WC in Brasil, with the first match to be played in September and, if things go according to plan, there will be a total of 14 matches over the next 2 years. Of course, during this 2 year period we will also have London Olympic qualifiers for our Men & Women; u16 Asian Championship Qualifiers and u19 Asian Championship qualifiers! Football is a 24x7x365 sport.
CleanMatch
Guest
Didn't they just play in a tournament? Or was that the women?
Matthew Skellett
Guest
We are all with you da young un' socceroos !!!!!!! :-)
Realfootball
Guest
Our front third looks terrific. Our defence, however, looks very ordinary without Devere. MacGowan, in particular, is horribly error prone and looks short of class at this level. The wingbacks are unexceptional. Methinks we will concede quite a few goals, so we had better approach games with an attacking mindset.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Just looked at the TV schedule and you're right - all Australia's Group matches are at very reasonable times .. at least on the East Coast! Having said that ... yes, the pre-match tension may still deprive me of a good night's rest.
Midfielder
Guest
Good review and RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaa the expectations of this team I hope it does not weight them down ... That central midfield of Mustafa Amini & Ben Kantarovski, when you add the outside mids HHHHHHHHHHHmmmm mouth watering.... I can also add from some local Mariners knowledge Trent Sainsbury & Sam Gallagher they are good on the ball both have a good passing game and will add something at the back I don't think we have ever had and that is backs not wanting to go long and only doing so if there are no other options... Just on Matty Ryan he was in the squad and got injured .... has been on the sidelines for a bit over two months and hopes to be ready for the October season start ... Up front with .. Kofi Danning, Kerem Bulut, Bernie Ibini ..... this looks a good bunch of strikers ... AS you said a very strong team.... the best on paper at this age IMO time will tell....
jamesb
Guest
good luck to the young socceroos. even without leckie and mcgrath, the side has Amini, Antonis, Petratos, Oar, Bernie, Bulut, Kanta etc. Looking forward to it more than the joeys. Speaking of which, good luck to dylan tombides, hopefully he makes a speedy recovery.
Eamonn
Guest
Why sleepless - aren't the games at 9am - or are you that excited you can't sleep! Lots of talent - loads of potential - even if we don't qualify there should be enough star quality for a couple of gems to push hard for Socceroos berth even without Leckie and McGrath. Bit worried about the defence!
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Nice overview and I'm really looking forward to this tournament. This is the most exciting group of young talent that has represented the Australian National Team at u20 level for a long long time. I want to see the team play with the patience, the vision and the flair that they exhibited at the AFC u19 Championships last year. If they can replicate that form, the results will also follow. More sleepless nights coming up as Football fans are taken on a journey around another exotic location in Sth America.