The Australia Under-20’s succumbed to defeat against Qatar in the COTIF International tournament.
Paul Okon insists he is pleased with his Young Socceroos squad despite them slipping to a narrow defeat in their opening match of the COTIF International Tournament in Spain.
Despite the searing 30 degree heat and raging winds that greeted the two nations at kick-off, they didn’t prevent Qatar from scoring the only goal of the game as Hassan finished calmly past Australia goalkeeper Luke Radonich in the ninth minute to earn victory.
The Maroons then opted to sit back and soak up the pressure from Okon’s side, who struggled to create any clear cut openings and conjure an equaliser, but the head coach insists he was happy with how is side performed.
“It was a difficult game that after Qatar scored they sat deep and made it difficult for us to penetrate their defence,” Okon explained to Football Australia.
“This was the first game of the new Young Socceroos program. Participating in this tournament is the main starting point for the new program and these matches will allow me to evaluate a lot of players that are new to the national program.
“We now have another match against Mexico to look forward to.”
The Young Socceroos face Mexico in their second match on Tuesday night before taking on Saudi Arabia (15 August) and then Spain (16 August) in their remaining group games.
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