Adelaide United young gun Amlani Tatu and in-form Western United sensation Anthony Didulica scored two goals apiece as the Subway Joeys overcame hosts Indonesia 5-3 to book their spot in the ASEAN U16 Boys’ Championship final.
Tatu found the back of the net twice on Monday, while Didulica came off the bench to make it six goals in two games after his four-goal haul in the final group game.
Brisbane Roar’s teenage star Quinn MacNicol, who scored four goals against Timor-Leste, also struck in front of Socceroos legend Tim Cahill as two-time champions Australia reached Wednesday’s decider, where Thailand await.
The scores were deadlocked at 2-2 following the opening 45 minutes thanks to goals from Tatu – who has been lighting up NPLM SA football with Adelaide this year – and MacNicol.
Didulica then came off the bench to lead the Subway Joeys past Indonesia with a second-half brace, with Tatu completing his double.
This ASEAN tournament has seen the emergence of the next group of A-Leagues wonderkids.
We could be seeing a lot more of Tatu in the Isuzu UTE A-League next season, if his NPL form was anything to go by but now we can add his international exploits to that list.
The 15-year-old prodigy represented the Joeys on a two-week camp in Italy in April, scoring for Australia in a 4-3 win over Switzerland’s Under-16 team.
In Tatu, who is yet to make his A-Leagues bow, Adelaide may have already found their Nestory Irankunda replacement following his Bayern Munich transfer. The young gun also scored a stunning goal against Malaysia in Australia’s second group game of this tournament.
It has been a breakout tournament for Western’s Didulica, who has scored an incredible six goals in his last two games for the Joeys – the most of any player at the Championship.
An electric attacking midfielder with a knack for scoring goals, the academy starlet joined Western in the back end of 2023 initially in the Under 18’s squad.
The 16-year-old has scored eight goals in 16 matches at U23 level this season at Western.
As for MacNicol, he is coming off a history-making season with the Roar.
The 16-year-old became the youngest ever scorer in the 2023 Australia Cup and the third youngest to debut in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
MacNicol has scored five goals for the Joeys at the tournament.
Featured image: Football Australia
