The A-Leagues-led Young Socceroos opened their Under-20 Costa Calida Supercup campaign with a 1-0 loss to Morocco on Friday (AEST).
Trevor Morgan selected 16 of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s brightest young talents as part of his 24-player squad for the tournament in Spain.
Against Morocco, the starting XI featured seven players based in the A-League Men – Steven Hall (Adelaide United), Nectarios Triantis (Central Coast Mariners), Kaelan Majekodunmi (Perth Glory), Joseph Forde (Perth Glory), Sam Klein (Brisbane Roar), Rhys Bozinovski (Western United) and Raphael Borges Rodrigues (Melbourne City).
Former Adelaide United forward Yaya Dukuly, now playing for Stade de Reims in France alongside another ex-Red Mohamed Toure, was also in the line-up.
The Young Socceroos conceded inside three minutes against Morocco but they continued to take the game to their opponents in an end-to-end contest.
However, Australia were unable to find the back of the net.
The Young Socceroos will next play Chile on September 25 (5am AEST) and England on September 28 (1am AEST).