Roar teen, Reds prodigy & 14yo City defender part of Joeys squad to face Italian giants on training camp

A-Leagues talent makes up more than half of the Subway Joeys’ squad for next month’s trip to Italy, where they will play two friendlies against Under-16 Switzerland and U17 Inter Milan.

There are 16 Isuzu UTE A-League prospects in the 24-player squad set to travel to Italy for a two-week camp from April 5-19 as the Joeys look ahead to the 2025 AFC Under-17 Asian Cup and the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup.

Brisbane Roar sensation Quinn MacNicol, who became the youngest ever scorer in the 2023 Australia Cup and the third youngest to debut in the Isuzu UTE A-League, is in the squad. As is highly rated 15-year-old Amlani Tatu from Adelaide United.

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Besian Kutleshi earned a spot in Brad Maloney’s team – consisting of playing born in 2008-09 – after the 14-year-old made his debut for Melbourne City’s youth team in VPL1 recently.

Jai Ajanovic (Central Coast Mariners), Nickolas Alfaro (Sydney FC), Alex Bolton (Perth Glory), Aaron Cartwright (Melbourne City), James Houridis (Melbourne Victory), Alexander Houridis (Melbourne Victory), Feyzo Kasumovic (Adelaide United), Jayden Necovski (Melbourne City), Malual Nichola (Adelaide United), Christian Pullella (Perth Glory), Hayden Thomas (Perth Glory), Oskar Van Schrenk (Melbourne Victory) and Rhys Williams (Brisbane Roar) are also in the squad.

The roster includes sons of two Socceroos legends: Lucas Neill’s son Marcus (Sunderland) has been named, as has Paul Okon’s son Gianluca (Football NSW).

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“We’ve worked extremely hard over the last 12-months, scouting and monitoring players based both in Australian and abroad, ensuring we’ve identified the best emerging talent for future Australian national teams,” said head coach Maloney.

“Our focus during this camp is not just on honing individual skills but introducing this group to our playing philosophy and principles, while also laying the foundations for the strong and supportive team culture we want to see within all our national teams.  

“Having this camp in Italy provides this playing group with a taste for what to expect as a professional footballer and to have two matches against strong European opposition will also provide a marker as we prepare for October’s Asian Cup Qualifiers.”

Match Schedule

Subway Joeys v U16 Switzerland
Thursday, 11 April 2024 
Kick-off: 1pm local/9pm AEDT
Stadio Communale Ascona, Switzerland 

Subway Joeys v U17 Inter Milan
Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Kick-off: 3pm local/11pm AEDT
Konami Youth Development Centre, Italy