Melbourne Victory midfielder Jordan Brown will get the chance to make his international U20 debut after being selected in Paul Okon’s 20-man squad for the 2014 NTC invitational tournament to be held in America.
With the AFC U19 Championship’s in Myanmar approaching in October, the tournament provides a perfect opportunity for the young players to stake their claim for selection.
Although he’s been selected for training camps in previous squads, Brown is yet to make an appearance for the national team, and returns to the fray after a good season for Melbourne Victory Youth’s, which saw him earn his first appearance for the senior squad.
Teammate Scott Galloway joins the midfielder in the squad, while Melbourne City’s versatile winger Ben Garrucio and Stefan Mauk are both also in the 20.
Young Socceroos boss Paul Okon admits the opportunity to participate in the tournament was well too tempting to pass up, especially given the important AFC U19’s Championship coming up, which also doubles as the qualifying process for the 2015 U20’s World Cup.
“The invitation to play in this tournament came a couple of months ago and we didn’t hesitate in accepting this opportunity to play three competitive matches at this stage of our preparations,” Okon said.
“Our players are currently in pre-season mode and this camp will be a good chance to see where they are currently at and what we will need to work on for the next phase of our campaign.
“The opposition will be challenging, but the more we play together the better prepared we will be for the AFC U-19 Championships.”
The squad will depart for the US on the 9th July, with their first game against Bermuda on the 14th of July. They next face Chile on the 16th July before concluding their stay against the USA on the 18th July.
Squad in full:
Daniel ALESSI (Western Sydney Wanderers)
Shannon BRADY (Brisbane Roar)
Brandon BORRELLO (Brisbane Roar)
Jordan BROWN (Melbourne Victory)
Devante CLUT (Brisbane Roar)
Daniel De SILVA (Perth Glory)
Shayne D’CUNHA (Blacktown City)
Scott GALLOWAY (Melbourne Victory)
Ben GARUCCIO (Melbourne City)
Hagi GLIGOR (Sydney FC)
Paul IZZO (Adelaide United, GK)
Awer MABIL (Adelaide United)
Marc MARINO (Campbelltown City)
Stefan MAUK (Melbourne City)
Christopher NAUMOFF (Sydney FC)
Liam ROSE (Central Coast Mariners)
Jaushua SOTORIO (Western Sydney Wanderers)
Jordan THURTELL (Perth Glory, GK)
Benjamin WARLAND (Adelaide United)
Riley WOODCOCK (Perth Glory)