Subject: U20 Australia NT Discussion

Oh man! Disappointed to go down in a heroic performance last weekend 2-3 to Sweden U20.

Definitely the underdogs with 45% possession, 2 shots of target to 7... the Aussie Under 20's were undone by an 86" minute strike by Sweden.

Both goals were by our star midfielder Daniel Roberts who played his first world cup qualifying game after 2 matches suspension and 1 match injury...

This weekend an even tougher match against Germany, the current Group leaders...we'll do our best and then just hope!

Until next time!
This is U20!

Roberts isn't a midfielder, unless you mean central attack / striker / forward. LOL

But great to see he's putting the ball in the net. He's getting more and more game time on my squad and long term I see him as my #1 striker.

The loss against Sweden was tough but we were in the game right til the end.

Yep meant to say forward my mistake, got my players confused in my wrap-up!

A surprise 1-1 draw tonight against Germany U20 in world cup qualifying, the current leader of our group.

Once again a goal to our star forward Daniel Roberts got us an early lead, before Germany equalised very very later in the 2nd half (84". Once again so close to a win.

This is encouraging for the 2nd round of qualifying next season if we can keep in touch this season.

Next week we are up against France U20 (currently bottom of the group) so anything less than a win will be disappointing.

Until Next time
This is U20!

well done mate

love to see u managed to steal some pts..

Evening All

Busy time of the season picking the team.. so congrats to those that got selected in the Australian U20 roster - I only finalised selections tonight - so follow up report coming later.

About time for a season wrap - after the 1st half of qualifying, and we are hanging in there with a chance finishing equal 5th (on 4 points - equal with 5th, 6th & 7th place in Group 7).

As mentioned earlier in the season I'm expecting a stronger showing this season with most of the team continuing in U20! Realistically we only have Scotland U20 in our sights (they are currently in 4th place on 8 points in our Group).

To summarise last season results:
--------------------------------
Rnd 1: vs Scotland = Lost 1-0
Rnd 2: vs Saudi Arabia = Won 1-0
Rnd 3: vs Bulgaria = Lost 2-0
Rnd 4: vs Sweden = Lost 3-2
Rnd 5: vs Germany = Draw 1-1
Rnd 6: vs France = Lost 2-0

So here is the target, to qualify:
- We have to catch up 4 more points to Scotland, whilst making sure France does not get ahead of us.
- We need wins against both Scotland & Saudi Arabia
- We need at least 2 draws against any other 2, and can't lose to France.
- of course 3 wins this season would be the dream.

Until Next Time
This is U20!

Evening all

Yes, not much of an update as have just been playing friendlies... not that exciting. Australia U20 only has 6 competitive matches each season, and 9 friendlies!!! So given the team is pretty sorted, we're gaining Chemistry.

Results from friendlies has been OK as we are playing VL to save energy - 3 wins, 3 losses & 1 draw.
3 wins were all against U17 team.
1 draw against Malaysia U20
Most recent 1-0 losses were against Netherland U20 & Chile U20, after a 4-0 loss to Ireland with the reserve team first up.

We have a bye in the first round of World Cup qualifiers as only 7 teams in our group, so another friendly vs Chile U17 this weekend, and then the real stuff begins.

So nothing new to report at this stage. Stay tuned for World Cup qualifiers in another couple of weeks!

Until Next Time
This is U20!

Evening All

OK, finally, after a ridiculously long pre-season we have our first competitive match in the U20 World Cup qualifiers against Scotland.

Pretty much it is "must win" almost every match, but definitely the first two against Scotland & Saudi Arabia. We're going to need probably 4 wins out of 7 to have any sort of a chance, but looking forward to it.

So team set and ready... expecting a big match this weekend!

Until next time.
This is U20!

A tough loss/draw... I believe a bit unlucky... 50% of possession... 6 shots on target to 1 shot on target... and Davidson missing them all

Result was 1-1 against Scotland U20. Oh well on to next week versus Saudi. Looking forward to a few more wins!

Until next time!
This is U20!

2 more matches played since Scotland's 1-1 draw, and it was another 1-1 draw vs Saudi Arabia last weekend. Disappointed to not win those first two, confidence was not high going into Bulgaria U20 this week - currently leading Group 8 qualifying... but to my surprise Australia U20 had a fantastic 2-1 WIN over Bulgaria (despite 2 suspensions that mucked up our midfield).

So we are now 4 points behind France & Scotland in the table... so to qualify we will need to win 2 out of the 3 matches coming up against European powerhouses (France/Sweden/Germany).

On a positive note we are undefeated this qualifying season

Until next time
This is U20!

A 2-1 loss to Sweden U20 has put us out of the running for qualifying... with two matches to go France & Germany.

It is the first loss in this season's qualifiers, but after last season and disappointing draws this season, it too much to catch the top 4 in our group.

We'll be looking to finish 5th however to finish this seasaon off and hopefully improve rankings. It does look like we have improve a few ranking points this season (up to 51st) - is double last season's points, and most ranking points in last 3 seasons. I'd like to get us into the top 48!

Until next time
This is U20!

Well we finished with a great 1-0 win over France. So two wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses this season in World Cup qualifiers but we miss out finished 6th of 7 in the group. We won matches we were expected to lose, drew matches we were expecting to win, so obviously I will have to adjust tactics for matches we should win.

Just a heads up, I am planning to reapply for u20 manager again next season - most players scouted already, happy to take on an assistant. Our overall U20 ranking has improved 10 or so positions up to 49th with a friendly to go which is progress!

Until next time
This is U20!

After a 1-0 win over Belarus we're now ranked 47th in U20! Highest ever.

Until next time.
This is U20!

It is far away from pure luck, the number of increased shots in second half shows clearly that u picked right strategy

U improved a lot past few seasons - really like to see u as U20 coach (even if its getting harder to compete)!