Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart has today been selected in a 20-player squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – Third Round matches against Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart has today been selected in a 20-player squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – Third Round matches against Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Taggart, who is just 18 years old, is also eligible for the 2016 Paris Olympics and is the only Perth Glory player to be selected by Qantas Australian under 23s Head Coach Aurelio Vidmar.
“It-s great to be named in the squad and to be given another opportunity to represent my country,” Taggart said.
“I thank Aurelio and the coaching staff for selecting me.
Perth Glory defender Scott Neville was not considered for selection as he continues to recover from knee surgery while teenager Josh Risdon, who has been in outstanding form at right full-back was overlooked.
Taggart-s selection means the young star will miss as many as four Perth Glory games.
Adelaide United defender Antony Golec and Melbourne Victory midfielder Isaka Cernak get their first call-up for this round of the qualification campaign along with Brisbane Roar midfielder Rocco Visconte who has recovered from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of squad for the last three matches.
Sydney FC midfielder Terry Antonis has been included in the Qantas Australian U23s squad, subject to passing a fitness test prior to departure. Depending on the outcome of Antonis- fitness test, either Mustafa Amini or Bernie Ibini from the Central Coast Mariners will be added to the squad.
Overseas based striker Kerem Bulut also receives his first ever selection in a Qantas Australian U23s squad having previously made appearances for the Qantas Joeys and Qantas Young Socceroos.
Discussions are also ongoing to add other overseas-based players, Aaron Mooy (St Mirren, Scotland), Tommy Oar (FC Utrceht, Netherlands) and Mathew Leckie (Borussia Monchengladbach, Germany), to the Qantas Australian U23s squad for the UAE match on 22 February with their club commitments making them definitely unavailable for the Uzbekistan match.
The majority of the Qantas Australian Under 23s will depart Australia on 29 January for a pre-match camp in the UAE before heading to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan at the JAR Stadium on Sunday 5 February (Kick-off 8:00pm local (11pm AWST. The Qantas Australian U23s will then return to the UAE for a training camp to prepared for their next qualification match against the UAE at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday 22 February (Kick-Off 5:30pm local (9:30pm AWST). The training camp will also include a friendly match against the Philippines senior national team at the Zabeel Stadium, Dubai on Thursday 16 February (Kick-off 7:30pm local (11:30pm AWST).
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.
Qantas Australian U-23s Squad List
AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games – Round 3
V Uzbekistan and UAE – February 2012
Terry ANTONIS (Sydney FC), Aziz BEHICH (Melbourne Heart), Mark BIRIGHITTI ((gk) Adelaide United), Oliver BOZANIC (Central Coast Mariners), Kerem BULUT (FK Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic>, Isaka CERNAK (Melbourne Victory), Mate DUGANDZIC (Melbourne Heart), Diogo FERREIRA (Melbourne Victory), Matthew FOSCHINI (Melbourne Victory), Antony GOLEC (Adelaide United), Jason HOFFMAN (Melbourne Heart), Matthew JURMAN (Brisbane Roar), Ben KANTAROVSKI (Newcastle Jets), 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), Rocco VISCONTE (Brisbane Roar)
Stand by players
Mustafa AMINI (Central Coast Mariners), Bernie IBINI (Central Coast Mariners)
as at Tuesday 24 January 2012
