Successful Male Talent Identity Camp ends in Holland

The Australian Men’s Talent Identification Camp concluded last weekend in the Netherlands where 22 of the best young Australian talents in the UK and Europe came together to play two matches against Dutch youth teams.

Led by Trevor Morgan, Australian Football’s Head of Technical Steering, Tracks and Coach Education, with input and support from Australian football greats Paul O’Conn and Craig Moore, the camp was designed to enable young Australians to come together under the national team banner. Staff can. Players can be evaluated in matches and supported in their fledgling career.

During five days together in the Netherlands, Australia played two matches – the first against Young FC Utrecht on Wednesday and the second against the Dutch U19s on Friday.

Morgan was pleased with the team’s efforts in both games, especially as it was a fairly new group of players who gathered in Hoevelaken, Netherlands.

“Our goal was to go out there and look and judge the level of some of the players who qualified for the U-23 tournament, but also a lot of the U-20 players,” Morgan said.

“We wanted to see the level of some players we haven’t seen in a while, but there were nine players who hadn’t been to camp in Australia before, so they all got a chance to play a little bit.”

“Paul Okun and Craig Moore attended both games and being in and around camp gave the players a chance to get some guidance on what to do next in their careers. We (Australian football) wanted to show these players their way in the UK and Europe some support and it was great To have the passion, the experience, and the presence of Paul and Craig on the team.”

The young Australian team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Young FC Utrecht in their first match, as they drew 2-2 against the Netherlands U19s on Friday. Former Central Coast Mariners star Allu Cole, who now plays football in Germany, as well as a player Portuguese midfielder Ryan Teague, the former Joeys captain in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019 scored for Australia in Friday’s game.

With Isuzu Ute A-League Men competition in full swing, no players from Australia have been considered in the camp until they can accumulate match minutes in the A-League. However, eligible players from Australia, the UK, Europe and elsewhere are all eligible to enter Australia in the U-23 AFC Asian Cup in Uzbekistan.

Australia finished third in the last edition of the AFC U-23 Cup in Thailand in January 2020 to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 men’s soccer tournament.

This year’s edition of the AFC U-23 Cup is not a qualifier for the upcoming Olympics, but it will be an important tournament as some of Australia’s best young players look to keep up against the elite of Asian rivals.

Australia were drawn in Group B in the U-23 Asian Cup, and Uzbekistan 2022, along with Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan. Australia will play the group stage matches at 2^{second abbreviation}5^Yesand 8^Yes June 2022.

Reports from last week’s talent camp in the Netherlands will be handed over to Australia’s new U-23 coach as soon as a date is set.

Below you will find the list of players who participated in the talent training camp in Hoevelaken last week.