The young Socceroos shone in their opener against Colombia but just how good are Australia's new breed?

Australian football concluded a week of highs with another boost in the small hours of Sunday morning as the Young Socceroos played in an impressive U-20 World Cup opener in Turkey against the South American champions Colombia. The Young Socceroos will tackle El Salvador tonight looking to effectively shore up passage to the knockout stage of the U-20 World Cup for the first time in a decade.

The timing could scarcely have been more intriguing. A recurring narrative throughout the Socceroos' Brazil 2014 campaign has been the advanced age of the squad, and the lack of youngsters pressing for spots. Barely a match went by without references to Dad's Army, Zimmer frames or the combined age of Mark Schwarzer and Lucas Neill.

Australia's squad at South Africa 2010 was the second-oldest of the 32 nations competing. Conversely, a hugely successful new-look Germany were laden with World Cup debutants. When the pair met in Durban it was the biggest age disparity between two starting line-ups in the 80 year history of the tournament.

Yet Australia's squad regeneration since 2010 has been partial at best. Of the starting side against Iraq last Tuesday, seven were in South Africa, while two of the remaining four – Sasa Ognenovski and Matt McKay – are the wrong side of 30.

Pressure on the incumbent Socceroos has been limited, due largely to what the Football Federation Australia technical director Han Berger calls the "missing generation" in reference to the 25-30 age bracket.

It is, however, not an unexpected scenario with the governing body undergoing a massive change in structure and management a decade ago. In mid-2003 the ailing Soccer Australia began a long-anticipated period of renewal before eventually morphing into Football Federation Australia, but the indirect fall-out is still being felt.

There was no national youth league in the four-year period leading up to 2008, while the drawn out move from the semi-professional National Soccer League to the A-League also proved a hindrance to player development.

The former FFA national technical manager Ron Smith – whose 13 years at the helm of the Australian Institute of Sport produced numerous key players during the national team's 'golden generation' – observed at the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympics qualifying cycle that the squad's match experience "could be measured in minutes, not matches."

As it was the team somehow managed to win through to Beijing, but perhaps it is little surprise that few members of the squad have subsequently made a significant impression for the Socceroos.

So what of the next crop of youngsters? Will the Socceroos be bolstered by youthful impetus in the near future? Is there genuine reason for optimism?

After the Young Socceroos weekend performance, the answer, at least superficially, is in the affirmative. Australia's young tyros faced the toughest of opening matches in fronting up to Colombia, a team that qualified as South American champions, while Argentina and Brazil - who between them have won an incredible 11 of the 18 U-20 World Cups – fell by the wayside.

Australia, having enjoyed a greater share of possession and posing a constant threat in wide areas, found themselves just 12 minutes away from a famous win, only to be forced to settle for a share of the spoils as the South Americans conjured an equaliser.

Optimism for Australia's next generation is shared by Berger, now in his fifth year overseeing the nation's technical structure and methods.

Speaking from the Young Socceroos base in Trabzon, Berger, a reserved Dutchman who one senses is not prone to hyperbole, is happy to share his confidence about the next wave of young talent.

"This is the first generation that most of whom have experienced the new approach that we have put in place," said Berger. "Although you could say this is a fringe generation, with half of the group having experienced the new programmes and philosophy. This group looks quite OK, so we are really excited to see how the team goes.

"We hope with this and future generations will be touched by the new programmes and structure … Then I think the future looks good for Australia."

The new approach to which Berger refers is multi-faceted. Largely it is based around the National Football Curriculum introduced in 2009 and tailored, as Berger says "specifically for Australian mentality and circumstances." The Dutchman also points to the repair of a fragmented talent development pathway. A third key component is a significant increase in the number of coach education programmes, the quality of which, Berger states, is "comparable to those in Europe".

Historically the quantity of players who have made the transition from Young Socceroos to the senior team has been significant.

Remarkably, 98 of Australia's 210 players that have featured at previous U-20 World Cups have gone on to turn out for the Socceroos. By any measure a transition rate of 47% is an imposing figure, and in global terms relatively rare.

Of the current crop of Young Socceroos, injured midfielder Terry Antonis and striker Adam Taggart have already played for the senior team, which Berger says "sends a clear message".

Berger believes a crucial factor in the development of 18-23 year-olds is regular first-team football. The evidence provided by the recent development of Robbie Kruse and Tommy Oar, who have both enjoyed breakthrough seasons at club level, lends weight to the theory.

So could some of the current Young Socceroos be spending next June in Brazil? "A lot can change in a year," says Berger. "In a year from now, why not. At this age players can develop very quickly."

It might seem an unlikely notion to some but the importance of Kruse, Oar and Tom Rogic to the Socceroos has increased dramatically over a period of weeks, let alone a 12 month period. Rest assured the Australia coach, Holger Osieck, will maintain a keen interest in the likes of Parma-bound Antonis, Celtic's Jackson Irvine, Newcastle United's Curtis Good and others currently in Turkey.

The Young Socceroos coach Paul Okon – himself a former star on the same stage having skippered the Class of 91 to the U-20 World Cup semi-finals – went into the match against Colombia saying he wanted to "dominate possession". To many global viewers the idea would have seemed fanciful, yet Okon's ambitions in that sense were fulfilled.

Okon's comments speak of a new level of confidence in the nation's young players and their playing style. So too, it seems, that Australia's football fraternity, after a period of hand-wringing and self-doubt, can look forward with renewed optimism.

Three Australians to watch out for at the Under-20 World Cup

Adam Taggart

Age: 20

Club: Newcastle Jets

Striker

Given the nod to start ahead of the free-scoring Corey Gameiro, Taggart seems a perfect fit for the No9 role in Paul Okon's 4-2-3-1 formation. The Perth-born Taggart demonstrated his all-round finishing ability against New Zealand in the final home international earlier this month. A classic curling strike from the edge of the penalty area was sandwiched either side of two clinically-taken close-range goals as Taggart provided a deft finishing touch to attacks down the flanks. The Newcastle Jets striker is already demonstrating an ability to make runs between defenders, again in keeping with the style of both the Young Socceroos, and increasingly, the senior team. Daniel De Silva

Age: 16

Club: Perth Glory

Attacking midfielder

Four months ago Daniel De Silva was an unknown 15-year-old down the pecking order in Perth Glory's youth team. The Glory coach Alistair Edwards following the maxim 'if you're good enough, you're old enough', gave De Silva his chance and the slightly-built youngster is suddenly now one of the nation's brightest hopes. Having become the youngest Australian to feature at a U-20 World Cup on Saturday, the attacking midfielder displayed his big game mentality in becoming the youngest goalscorer for any nation at the tournament since 1989. Still with two U-20 World Cups ahead of him, De Silva, who is blessed with a maturity beyond his tender years, combines precocious skill and direct running with impressive vision and accurate short passing. Jackson Irvine

Age: 20

Club: Celtic

Defensive midfielder

Virtually unknown to Australian audiences until the U-20 World Cup opener, Jackson Irvine demonstrated an all-round game against Colombia that suggests he is potentially an enormous asset to the Socceroos. A graduate of Melbourne Victory's youth set-up, Irvine has just completed his third season at Scottish champions Celtic where he made one first-team appearance during the past season. An Aberdeen-born father led to several appearances for Scotland U-19s, before Irvine confirmed his allegiance to the country of his birth. Irvine is one of the first inclusions on Paul Okon's teamsheet and provides a cool and strong presence at the base of the midfield. An on-field leader, Irvine's impressive physical capabilities do not mask his passing ability.