Wednesday, 5 March 2003 12:00 AM
Former South Melbourne Championship coach Ange Postecoglou, announced his 20 man World Cup Under 20 squad yesterday which included three talented South Melbourne players.
Massimo Murdocca, Vince Lia and Michael Baird have been selected for the Under 20 World Cup Squad which will travel to Dubai.
The Australian squad will convene for a pre-tournament camp in Perth prior to arriving in the United Arab Emirates for their first game on March 26.
The preliminary group draw for the Qantas Young Socceroos is:
Australia Vs Czech Republic
26 March – 8.30pm
Australia Vs Canada
29 March – 5.45pm
Australia Vs Brazil
1 April – 5.45pm
(*all times are Dubai time)
The 24-team tournament will be held from March 25 – April 16 with Group C to be played at the Rashid Stadium in the Northern city of Dubai.
Australia are set to compete for the 11th time at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship having missed only three tournaments in the 26-year history of the competition. Australia were semi-finalists in 1991 and 1993 and were quarter-finalists in 1981, 1995, 1997 and 2001.