Two Greek Australian young guns have been selected by Joeys Head Coach Jan Versleijen in his 20-player squad for an international tournament in August.
AIS duo Jesse Makarounas and Yianni Perkatis will line-up against England, Portugal and Turkey at the FA Men’s U17 International Tournament which will be held in Lincolnshire, England from 25-29 August 2010.
Perkatis is originally from Sydney and Makarounas is originally from Darwin.
Versleijen will be using this tournament to prepare his players for the AFC U-16 Championship 2010 which will be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 24 October-7 November 2010.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to face strong quality opposition such as the England, Portugal and Turkey youth national teams as we enter the final stages of our preparation for the AFC Championships,” said Versleije.
“We will also be playing two training matches against the Fulham FC and Tottenham Hotspur Academy teams prior to the tournament.
“With the bulk of the Joeys squad composed from current Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship players, I am very confident that we will perform well and the experience we gain from this tournament will be of great benefit to the boys,” concluded Versleijen .
The Joeys will depart Australia tomorrow for a week-long training camp before facing Portugal in the opening match on Wednesday 25 August, followed by England on Friday 27 August and finally Turkey on Sunday 29 August.
The Joeys have been drawn in Group C of the AFC U-16 Championships alongside Japan, Timor Leste and Vietnam.