Qantas Young Socceroos go down in penalty shootout

The Qantas Young Socceroos have lost its opening match of the Copa Ciudad de Rosario tournament in Argentina, following a penalty shootout against Uruguay.

The Qantas Young Socceroos have lost its opening match of the Copa Ciudad de Rosario tournament in Argentina, following a penalty shootout against Uruguay.

The match finished 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes and went straight to penalties, with Uruguay winning the shootout 4-3.

Australian coach Jan Versleijen gave a debut to Sydney FC players Antony Golec and Chris Payne (off the bench) in the match as he gets his last look at players he is looking to take to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Egypt in September.

There was little to separate the two teams in the opening half hour, with Brisbane Roar-s Mitch Nichols picking up a yellow card.

The best chance of the half did fall Australia-s way, when they picked up an error in midfield by Uruguay and Newcastle-s Jason Hoffman was 1 on 1 with the keeper, but he blazed his shot over the bar.

Australia came out strongly after the break, dominating play and almost going ahead in the 53rd minute. Hoffman-s cross into the box was diverted to Kofi Danning on the edge of the box and his fierce shot struck the post.

However that was to be the best chance of the second half and neither side was able to break the deadlock and in the ensuing shoot out Australia missed its final two spot kicks to hand Uruguay the victory in the four-team tournament.

Coach Versleijen was happy with the performance and felt they dominated large parts of the match.

“We had some new players today and it took a while to get in the flow of the match,” he said. “Hoffman had two good chances in the first half which unfortunately he couldn't convert.

“Uruguay was not dangerous at all and in the second half we controlled the midfield and this started to create chances.

“The last 15 minutes of the game the field opened up allowing both teams some greater chances to score. We had our opportunities and Uruguay had better luck in the penalty shootout.”

They will now play the USA on Monday, followed by a match against top Argentinean Youth team C.A. Tiro Federal on Wednesday.

Match Details

Australia 0 (3 pen) Uruguay 0 (4 pen)

Australian line-up: Andrew Redmayne (gk), Pece Cvetanovski, Luke DeVere (c), Mathew Jurman, Antony Golec, Sam Munro, Tahj Minniecon (Rocco Visconte 64-), Aaron Mooy, Jason Hoffman, Mitch Nichols (Nathan Elasi 80-), Kofi Danning (Chris Payne 70-).

Cautions: Nichols (30-), Jurman (45-)