The Houridis twins are hoping to help steer Australia to a great display at the 2024 ASEAN U-16 Boys’ Championship in Surakarta, Indonesia, as the group prepares itself for the upcoming qualifiers for the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
The Greek Australian pair are among the 23-player squad for the Joeys that has been tasked with earning Australia its third ASEAN U-16 Boys’ Championship trophy.
The tournament features 12 members from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Football Federation, with Australia drawn in Group C alongside Malaysia, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
The Joeys got off to a timid start after drawing 0-0 against Thailand in their first group stage match this past Sunday evening.
Joeys head coach Brad Maloney expressed the importance of the tournament in giving the youngsters international exposure, stressing that the team can perform well as long as they do not think too far ahead of themselves.
“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 at the team’s base in Surakarta ahead of the tournament.
“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.”
The group winners and the best-ranked runner-up will advance to the semi-finals of the tournament, meaning Australia has to achieve highly from here on out.
Australia takes on Malaysia next on Wednesday, 26 June, before finishing the group stage with a game against Timor-Leste on Saturday, 29 June, with both games to be played at 6pm (AEST) at Sriwedari Stadium.
Following the tournament, the Joeys will continue to develop together as they quickly begin the qualifiers for the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
Maloney stated that the team is at the beginning of a cycle together and that they have “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.”
The Joeys have been drawn in Group G for the qualifiers and will face Indonesia, Kuwait and Northern Mariana Islands.
Their games will be held in Kuwait between 23-27 October later this year.
The ten group winners and five best second-placed teams will advance to the finals for the tournament next April.
