A-Leagues prospects dominate Joeys squad for Asian Cup qualifiers

Eighteen Isuzu UTE A-League youngsters have been called up for the Subway Joeys’ 2025 AFC Under-17 Asian Cup qualifiers this month.

Joeys head coach Brad Maloney has selected a 23-player squad for Australia’s upcoming qualifiers in Kuwait between October 19-27.

Besian Kutleshi – a 15-year-old sensation and “one of Australia’s biggest young talents” who signed for Western United this off-season, headlines the squad along with Brisbane Roar young gun Quinn Macnicol and Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Jai Ajanovic and Adelaide United’s Amlani Tatu, who both signed scholarship deals.

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The preliminary stage of the U17 AFC tournament – which also serves as qualifying for the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar – features 43 teams, divided into 10 groups and comprising of 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.

Australia’s U17 team will face Indonesia, hosts Kuwait and Northern Mariana Islands in Group G as the Joeys eye Asian Cup qualification.

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The Joeys will play Northern Mariana Islands in their opening match on October 24 (AEDT) before going head-to-head with Kuwait (October 25) and Indonesia (October 28).

The 18 Isuzu UTE A-League squad members selected in the Joeys squad come from nine clubs:

Adelaide United: Henrique Oliveira, Amlani Tatu, Noah Elull
Brisbane Roar: Quinn MacNicol, Charlie Parkin, Rhys Williams
Central Coast Mariners: Jai Ajanovic
Melbourne City: Isiah Boston, Jonty Benfield
Melbourne Victory: Zayd Kassaby
Perth Glory: Alex Bolton, Max Naylor, Christian Pullella
Sydney FC: Jay Maltz, Nickolas Alfaro
Western Sydney Wanderers: Zane Stevenson
Western United: Anthony Didulica, Besian Kutleshi

“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,” said head coach Brad Maloney,

“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.”

ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE MEN 2024-25 FIXTURE DETAILS
FULL FIXTURE: Every match here
DERBY DATES: The matches to circle in your calendar now
TALKING POINTS: What you need to know about the 24-25 draw, inc new TV schedule

Match schedule

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, 25 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

Subway Joeys squad