Subway Joeys’ squad for U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers confirmed

Subway Joeys’ Head Coach, Brad Maloney has selected a 23-player squad for Australia’s upcoming AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025™ Qualifiers to be contested in Kuwait between 19 – 27 October 2024.

The preliminary stage of the U17 continental tournament – which serves as qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025™ – comprises 43 teams, divided into 10 groups, featuring seven of four teams and three of five teams. Qualifying groups will be contested in a centralised league format, with teams to be seeded based on their final rankings from the corresponding previous edition.

The Subway Joeys have been drawn in Group G alongside Indonesia, Kuwait (host), and Northern Mariana Islands, where they will be looking to secure their place at the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025™.

The Subway Joeys will play each of their three fixtures out of Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium, Mishref and will begin to assemble in from Thursday, 10 October for a pre-camp ahead of the Qualifiers commencing.

Maloney has rewarded a core group of players who have performed strongly at both the 2024 ASEAN U-16 Boys’ Championship and the recent PacificAus Sports Football Tour of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, with Jai Ajanovic (Central Coast Mariners FC), Alex Bolton (Perth Glory FC), Jay Maltz (Sydney FC) and Charlie Parkin (Brisbane Roar FC) all selected.

Nickolas Alfaro (Sydney FC), Anthony Didulica (Western United FC) and Quinn MacNicol (Brisbane Roar FC) headline an abundance of players now on the books of Isuzu UTE A-League Men set ups. Logan Sambrook (North Coast Football) has been rewarded for strong performances at both the 2024 National Youth Championships Boys’ Tournament and the PacificAus Sports Football Tour.

Several European-based players were not made available by their clubs, given these Qualifiers fall outside of a Men’s FIFA International Window, however, Alexander Garbowski (BK Häcken) will make the trip to Kuwait from Sweden.

Subway Joeys’ Head Coach, Brad Maloney said he was pleased with the way his squad had been building towards these Qualifiers.

“The squad has been fantastic over the last six months, putting in great performances in both Indonesia and the Pacific, and we come into these Qualifiers feeling well prepared and connected as a group,” Maloney said.

“Throughout that time, we’ve seen a number of those players rewarded with A-League Men scholarships, where they’re training and playing at a high level which is only going to accelerate their development.

“We’ve been fortunate to have a core group of players involved in consecutive camps and they’ll arrive in Kuwait very clear on our standards, expectations and playing principles.

“Our preparation will be extremely important given the Qualifiers fall out of regular season. The squad has been diligent with their individual training programs, and I’ve been very impressed with their professionalism and commitment ahead of our pre-camp.

“This is the first step on our journey towards a World Cup and I know the players can’t wait to get started,” concluded Maloney.

The 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams will qualify for the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2025™ which will be held from 3 – 20 April 2025.

For a complete list of Qualifying Groups for the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2025™ click here.

MATCH SCHEDULE – AFC U17 ASIAN CUP SAUDI ARABIA 2025™ QUALIFIERS

Subway Joeys v Northern Mariana Islands
Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Kick-off: 8.30pm (local) / 4.30am AEDT (Thursday, 24 October)
Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium, Mishref

Kuwait v Subway Joeys
Friday, 25 October 2024
Kick-off: 8.30pm (local) / 4.30am AEDT (Saturday, 26 October)
Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium, Mishref

Subway Joeys v Indonesia
Sunday, 27 October 2024
Kick-off: 5.30pm (local) / 1.30am AEDT (Monday, 28 October)
Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium, Mishref

Note: The AFC confirmed on 4 October 2024 the new match day venue of Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium. 

SUBWAY JOEYS SQUAD | AFC U17 ASIAN CUP SAUDI ARABIA 2025™ QUALIFIERS