Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Canberra: Football Federation Australia (FFA) has named Ufuk Talay as the new head coach of the U-20 national team.
Talay has been involved in the Australian national team structure as the assistant coach of the Australian U-17 team (Joeys) and the FFA Centre of Excellence programme at the Australian Institute of Sport. He replaces Paul Okon, who has been named as head coach of the Central Coast Mariners.
Talay, who enjoyed a successful playing career overseas and was also part of Sydney FC’s inaugural Championship-winning A-League team, was thrilled with the opportunity to lead the U20s into the next FIFA World Cup qualifying cycle.
“This is a huge honour for me to be named coach of the Australian U-20 team,” Talay said. “It’s a step forward and I look forward to working with the players to play the type of football our national teams have been playing and qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
“I’d like to thank Luke Casserly, Ange Postecoglou and the FFA for having faith in me and also Tony Vidmar and Peter de Roo for the opportunity they gave me to join the national team structure with the Joeys and the FFA Centre of Excellence and the knowledge they have shared with me.”
Talay will commence work immediately and will lead a 23-man squad for the AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) U-19 Championship in Vietnam from 11-24 September 2016.
The team leaves on Tuesday (6 September) and will play matches against Cambodia (12 September), Myanmar (14 September), Indonesia (16 September), Thailand (18 September) and Laos (20 September).
The Young Socceroos will then take part in the AFC U-19 Championship in Bahrain from 13-30 October 2016, where they face China PR, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the group stages of the 16-team tournament. The top four countries (excluding Korea Republic) will qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be played in Korea Republic.
Click here to see Australia's AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 group and fixtures
The 23-man squad for the AFF Championship is:
Keanu BACCUS - Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Jackson BANDIERA - Western Sydney Wanderers FC
George BLACKWOOD - Sydney FC
Joseph CHAMPNESS - Brisbane Roar FC
Patrick FLOTTMANN - Sydney FC
Joshua HOPE - Melbourne Victory FC
Jasmin KERANOVIC - West Bromwich Albion FC, ,England
Steve KUZMANOVSKI - Melbourne City FC
Tariq MAIA - Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Daniel MARGUSH - Adelaide United FC
George MELLS - Adelaide United FC
William MUTCH - Sydney FC
Connor O'TOOLE - Brisbane Roar FC
Liam ROSE - Central Coast Mariners FC
Dejan PANDUREVIC - Manly United (NPL)
Jayden PRASAD - Brisbane Roar FC
Kye ROWLES - Brisbane Roar FC
Lachlan SCOTT - Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Mario SHABOW - Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Yaren SOZER (GK) - Melbourne City FC
George TIMOTHEOU - Sydney FC
Brandon VELLA - Marconi Stallions FC
Liam YOULLEY - Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Photo: FFA