Four young Brisbane Roar players have their sights firmly set on national team selection as they travel to the Australian Institute of Sport this week for the final Qantas Young Socceroos and Qantas Olyroos camp before preparations head overseas later this month.
Matthew Acton, Daniel Bowles, Andrew Redmayne and Rocky Visconte have all made the trip south to Canberra while Mitch Nichols, who took part in the previous two camps, has remained in Brisbane to undergo rehabilitation on a minor injury.
This camp is the last in a series of training camps for Australian-based players as the Qantas Olyroos prepare for two 2012 London Olympic Games Asian qualifiers in June and the Qantas Young Socceroos look ahead to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Columbia, which kicks off at the end of July.
With the Qantas Olyroos scheduled to play the Japanese U23 national team in Niigata on June 1 and the Qantas Young Socceroos electing to compete in Holland-s Terborg Tournament in the first week of next month, competition for squad places is heating up, according to goalkeeper Acton.
“The group is pretty big so there is a lot of competition for spots,” he said.
“I think this camp especially will be a big test for everyone there because the coaches are getting down to the final stages of the selection process.
“Places are definitely up for grabs so everyone is trying to book their ticket to Columbia.”
Despite the wealth of goalkeeping talent within the group, Acton was confident he would be part of the squad travelling representing the green and gold in Colombia but said he would continue to work hard to ensure he continues to impress Qantas Young Socceroos coach Jan Versleijen.
“I-m very hopeful, I-ve got Mark Birighitti in front of me and there-s also Matty Ryan, who had a great season,” the 18-year-old said.
“I-ve just got to work hard and concentrate on my own game but I-m confident in myself, so hopefully I-ll be there.”
