Australia’s squad for next month’s AFC U-23 Championship in Thailand was announced today ahead of the team’s departure for a brief pre-tournament training camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Australia’s U-23 men’s national team for next month’s tournament will feature fourteen (14) players representing eight (8) Hyundai A-League clubs, with nine (9) members of Graham Arnold’s squad set to arrive in South-East Asia from overseas-based teams.



The Green and Gold will play an international friendly against Korea Republic in Malaysia’s capital on Friday afternoon (local time), before traveling to Bangkok on Saturday where Group A games against Iraq, Thailand, and Bahrain await.



The top three teams at the AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020 will join Japan as Asia’s representatives in the men’s football competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.



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Australia U-23 Head Coach Graham Arnold:

“I am happy with the final make-up of our squad for next month’s Championship. Over the past twelve months we have considered many players both at home and abroad as we’ve looked to grow the pool of players available to us. To finalise the twenty-three players for this tournament was no simple task – we had over fifty players on our radar for this tournament, so we will arrive in Thailand with a strong squad and one that I believe will represent Australia well.”



“Between arriving in camp in Kuala Lumpur and our first game of the tournament against Iraq in Bangkok we have only nine days. As a group it’s important that we are disciplined and focused from the outset as we seek to make the most of our time together. Our target in Thailand is to become the under twenty-three champions of Asia, and we know if we can achieve that further opportunities will come the team’s way in 2020.”



“Supporters in Australia will be familiar with many of the Hyundai A-League-based players in the squad, but I am excited for the football community to learn more about some of the overseas-based boys throughout January, too. There are some fantastic young players in our squad with the potential to progress to the Socceroos in the coming years.”



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Australia U-23 Men’s National Team Squad | AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020

Name Club, Country Keanu BACCUS Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia Daniel BOUMAN SC Cambuur, Netherlands Trent BUHAGIAR Sydney FC, Australia Gabriel CLEUR U.S. Alessandria, Italy Nicholas D’AGOSTINO Perth Glory FC, Australia Thomas DENG Melbourne Victory, Australia Zach DUNCAN AGF Aarhus, Denmark Ben FOLAMI Ipswich Town FC, England Denis GENREAU Melbourne City FC, Australia Alex GERSBACH AGF Aarhus, Denmark Thomas GLOVER (Gk) Melbourne City FC, Australia Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (Gk) Sydney FC, Australia Jordan HOLMES (Gk) Ebbsfleet United FC, England Jacob ITALIANO Borussia Monchengladbach, Germany Joshua LAWS Fortuna Dusseldorf II, Germany Connor METCALFE Melbourne City FC, Australia Tass MOURDOUKOUTAS Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia Ramy NAJJARINE Melbourne City FC, Australia Aiden O’NEILL Brisbane Roar FC, Australia Connor O’TOOLE Brisbane Roar FC, Australia Reno PISCOPO Wellington Phoenix FC, Australia Dylan RYAN Willem II Tilburg, Netherlands Al Hassan TOURE Adelaide United, Australia



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Australia U-23 Men's National Team – Upcoming Fixtures

Australia U-23 v Korea Republic U-23 – International Friendly

Date: Friday, 3 January 2020

Venue: Stadium Bola Sepak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kick-off: 5.00pm (local); 8.00pm (AEDT)

Note: Match to be played behind closed doors



Iraq U-23 v Australia U-23 – AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020

Date: Wednesday, 8 January 2020

Venue: Thammasat Stadium, Pathum Thani, Thailand

Kick-off: 5.15pm (local); 9.15pm (AEDT)

Click here for tickets

Broadcast: To be confirmed



Australia U-23 v Thailand U-23 – AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020

Date: Saturday, 11 January 2020

Venue: Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand

Kick-off: 8.15pm (local); 12.15am + 1 (Sunday, 12 January AEDT)

Click here for tickets

Broadcast: To be confirmed



Australia U-23 v Bahrain U-23 – AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020

Date: Tuesday, 14 January 2020

Venue: Thammasat Stadium, Pathum Thani, Thailand

Kick-off: 8.15pm (local); 12.15am +1 (Wednesday, 15 January AEDT)

Click here for tickets

Broadcast: To be confirmed

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