Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart has been selected in a 19-player squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – third Round matches against Iraq and Uzbekistan.
Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart has been selected in a 19-player squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – third Round matches against Iraq and Uzbekistan.
It-s the first time Taggart, 18 years old has been selected for the Qantas Australian Under 23s by Head Coach Aurelio Vidmar.
Taggart-s selection caps off a huge month for the young gun.
The teenager spent two days at a national training camp under the watchful eye of Qantas Socceroos Coach Holger Osieck and also scored 3 goals for the Young Socceroos as they breezed through their AFC U-19 Championship qualification campaign last week.
“It-s been a real buzz,” Taggart said.
“The last few weeks have been a great learning experience and I am really grateful to be given the chance to represent my country at the next level.”
Vidmar knows the importance of these upcoming two matches in qualification process.
“After drawing our opening match against the UAE we need to get a good result from these two matches to give us the best possible chance of qualifying for the Olympics.
“With injuries to a number of players we have used in the previous matches, we-ve selected a few new faces following our recent training camp in Sydney.
“It will be up to these players to take their opportunity and step up to the challenge ahead.
“We will have a short camp together in Qatar before the Iraq match to work on things and I-m confident that the boys are up to it,” concluded Vidmar
The Qantas Australian Under 23s will play Iraq in their next AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games match on Tuesday 22 November (Al Arabi Stadium, Doha, Qatar) and then Uzbekistan five days later at Parramatta Stadium in NSW.
The teams in each group of the third round of qualifying play in a home-and-away format from 21 September 2011, to 14 March 14, 2012, with the winner of each group directly qualifying for the London 2012 Olympic Games Football competition.
The three second-placed teams from the third round will clash in a playoff at a centralised venue from March 25 to 29, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of CAF (Africa) for a berth in the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games match between the Qantas Australian Under 23s and Uzbekistan will also be broadcast live and exclusive on FOX SPORTS.
Qantas Australian U-23s Squad List
AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – Round 3
V Iraq and Uzbekistan – November 2011
The squad:
Aziz Behich Melbourne Heart
Mark Birighitti (gk) Adelaide United
Oliver Bozanic Central Coast Mariners
James Brown Gold Coast United
Kofi Danning Brisbane Roar
Mate Dugandzic Melbourne Heart
Matthew Foschini Melbourne Victory
Rhyan Grant Sydney FC
Jason Hoffman Melbourne Heart
Marko Jesic Newcastle Jets
Matthew Jurman Brisbane Roar
Brad McDonald Central Coast Mariners
Dylan McGowan Gold Coast United
Daniel Mullen Adelaide United
Mitch Nichols Brisbane Roar
Dimitrios Petratos Sydney FC
Sebastian Ryall Sydney FC
Mathew Ryan (gk) Central Coast Mariners
Adam Taggart Perth Glory
Iraq v Qantas Australian U23s
Al Arabi Stadium, Doha, Qatar
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Kick-off: 5:15pm local (1:15 am AEDT)
AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – Third Round
Qantas Australian U23s v Uzbekistan
Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Kick-off: 7:15pm AEDT
