The Subway Joeys are entering a busy cycle over the coming months on the path to the AFC Asian Cup 2025™ tournament.
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First up, the squad is currently primed and ready for the upcoming 2024 ASEAN U-16 Boys’ Championship held in Surakarta, Indonesia from 21 June – 4 July.
Speaking at the team’s base in Surakarta, Subway Joeys Head Coach, Brad Maloney said: “The team has settled well and is ready to go, we arrived here a few days ago, in Jakarta first and have had three or four training sessions where players could acclimatise to the conditions.
“This is a good opportunity for players to have international exposure, and for me to see who can step up to that top level.”
The tournament – formerly known as the AFF Championship – will see the Subway Joeys face off against Malaysia, Thailand and Timor-Leste on Group C.
Maloney and the squad have their sights now on their first game on Sunday, 23 June against Thailand.
“The players are excited for the challenge,” he said. “They will be playing in new conditions, against a different style of opposition and I believe we've got a group that can do well in these Championships.”
Despite the belief within the squad to do well in this tournament, Maloney did ease expectations and said it is a one game at a time mentality for the players.
“We just need to manage the conditions and what is in front of us, we have a good group of players here and that is important,” he said.
“Everyone wants to win, and that is what we want to aspire to do ultimately, but first task is getting out of the group stages and then it is one game at a time.”
After this tournament, the Joeys continue on what is a busy period for the group as they take part in the qualifiers for the 20th edition of the AFC U17 Asian Cup™.
Maloney said: “We’re at the beginning of a cycle with this group and we’ve already taken great strides in fostering an environment and style of play that will bring success.
“We understand the way football in Asia continues to grow and the challenges that our opposition will present, so being at our best from the outset will be extremely important.”
In the qualifiers, they have been drawn in Group G alongside Indonesia, Kuwait (home) and Northern Mariana Islands.
These matches will take place across Asia between October 19 and 27 and is in a centralised league format.
The 10 Group winners and five best second-placed teams will advance to the Finals for the tournament.
For the Subway Joeys, the main goal during this busy period is to qualify not only for the Asian Cup, but for the U17 World Cup as well.
Maloney said: “Qualification for the Asian Cup is a goal we’ve set ourselves, which is the first step on our journey to the U17 World Cup in Qatar.
“The players believe too, the attitude and intention from the players has all been excellent, I’d really like to think this group can really develop over the next 12 months and hopefully represent their country at a World Cup.”
To finish, Maloney wanted to express how proud he is of the group and that he has thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
“I need to say it has been a real pleasure to work with this squad, they have all bought into the project and it looks set to be an exciting next 12 months,” he said.
“What is most pleasing is seeing them develop as footballers and as young men, hopefully more of them will go on to represent the Socceroos in the future.”
SUBWAY JOEYS SQUAD | ASEAN U16 BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIP 2024 | MATCH SCHEDULE
Thailand v Subway Joeys
Sunday, 23 June 2024
Kick-off: 3.00pm local/ 6.00pm AEST
Sriwedari Stadium, Surakarta, Indonesia
Subway Joeys v Malaysia
Wednesday, 26 June 2024
Kick-off: 3.00pm local/ 6.00pm AEST
Sriwedari Stadium, Surakarta, Indonesia
Timor-Leste v Subway Joeys
Saturday, 29 June 2024
Kick-off: 3.00pm local/ 6.00pm AEST
Sriwedari Stadium, Surakarta, Indonesia