Tour vital for World Cup says Versleijen

Qantas Young Socceroos coach Jan Versleijen says the short tour of Argentina, is necessary if the team is to perform well at the FIFA World Youth Cup in Egypt later this year.

Qantas Young Socceroos coach Jan Versleijen says the short tour of Argentina, is necessary if the team is to perform well at the FIFA World Youth Cup in Egypt later this year.

Versleijen put the Hyundai A-League based players through an intense hour long session at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney today, as they prepare to fly out to Argentina on Wednesday.

Asked what the significance of the tour would be for the team, he said first and foremost was the chance to play against the type of opponent they will meet in their group games in Egypt.

“First of all to play against South American opposition because we have Costa Rica and Brazil in our group,” he stated.

“It-s good to play similar types of teams to what we will be playing in the World Cup.

“The other important thing is it-s always good to have your team together and travel overseas, to get the team work better.

“It-s also the last opportunity that these players will have to impress as a group before we go to the World Cup, so it-s up to them (the players) now.”

Versleijen has chosen a 20-man squad with Brisbane Roar-s Luke Brattan a late withdrawal after suffering an ankle injury. Newcastle Jets defender Nick Tsattalios has been called in as his replacement.

The Hyundai A-League makes up the bulk of the squad with 15 players, with Nikola Stanojevic from the AIS the other Australian-based player, while there are four overseas-based players who will join them in Argentina.

The team will play Uruguay on Saturday; the USA on Monday and their final game will be against the top Argentinean U20 team C.A. Tiro Federal on Wednesday. The team will arrive back in Australia the weekend before the Hyundai A-League kicks-off.

Versleijen also believes that playing in tournaments like this will only help there development as players and give them a better understanding of the level they are at.

“One of the things most enjoyable when I am working with this group, is they are always willing to learn; they are always looking for advice. You can even see them step up in one training session and getting better.

“When we played in Holland two months ago in those two tournaments, you could see them getting better with every game.

“The only way to know if you are getting better is to get exposed against higher level teams and you don-t get that by only playing in Australia and that-s why these tournaments and the World Youth Cup is very important for their development as players.”