Image: Mark Witte
NPL Victoria regular trio Yaren Sozer, Callum Goulding and Joshua Hope have formed part of the 23-player list named for the Young Socceroos training camp on the Central Coast of NSW from 18-21 July 2016, while Melbourne City’s Steve Kuzmanovski has also been selected.
The camp will help Paul Okon assess players suitable for his squad for the AFF U19 Championship in September in Hanoi and AFC U19 Championship in October in Bahrain.
The squad will play the Central Coast Mariners on 21 July, before another two camps will be held between 8-11 August in Sydney and 22-25 August again on the Central Coast.
The Young Socceroos are grouped grouped with Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia for the AFF Championship, while for the AFC Championship the Young Socceroos were drawn alongside Uzbekistan, China PR and Tajikistan.
The AFC Championship also doubles as qualifiers for the next FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Goulding has honed his skill in the Victory team after a history in the Peninsula region, playing with the likes of Peninsula Strikers, Langwarrin SC and Mornington SC, having also also played overseas in the UK before graduating from Victoria’s NTC.
Sozer meanwhile is a National Youth League (NYL) winner with Melbourne City, having also previously spent time at Victory, and has continued plying his trade at City’s NPL team in 2016.
He joins Steve Kuzmanovski as City’s second player in the squad, with the NSW-born attacker featuring in the NPL this season at times despite being originally signed for the senior squad.
Former Under-17 Australian international Josh Hope continues to catch the eye of national teams, having now gained experience in Victory’s NPL side in the top flight of Victorian football.
The Tasmanian product came through via his home state’s NTC program, having also featured at the FFA Centre of Excellence before taking up Victory’s offer.