Western United’s Noah Botic has been named in the Australian under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers team.
Tony Vidmar has been named in a 23-man squad for the tournament that will be held in Tajikistan during September, which will face Laos and Tajikistan in a three-team group
To qualify for the Asian Cup, Australia will need to finish as group winner or be one of the four best second placed teams among all eleven groups.
Subway Olyroos’ Head Coach, Tony Vidmar was pleased with his squad’s preparation in the lead up to this all-important qualification period, which has implications not only for the cup but next year’s Olympic Games.
“This is the beginning of a really significant period within our program, and I’m pleased with the work we’ve been able to put in as a group up to this point,” Vidmar said.
“We had a fantastic lead-up to the Maurice Revello Tournament in France with a pre-camp at the Australian Institute of Sport European Training Centre in Gavirate, Italy. We were able to train, spend time together as a group and most importantly, play five quality games.
“There is nothing that can replicate the benefits of quality match minutes and I believe that’s prepared us well for the upcoming qualifiers.”
This will be Botic’s first opportunity to represent Australia since his excellent performances at the Maurice Revello Tournament.
Starting in three matches in the tournament in France, Botic scored twice as Australia achieved a third-place finish in its tournament debut.
Building from that, Botic has approached pre-season training with Western United intent on taking big steps forward, already scoring his first goal in United’s 4-0 over Edgeworth Eagles in the Australia Cup round of 32 match.
Western United football general Mal Impiombato praised Botic’s continued progression and urged him to continue putting himself in the frame for more opportunities.
“Noah has been a real success story at our club this year with his attitude and appetite to develop shaping the fantastic domestic form we saw last season,” he said. “On top of that, we were extremely proud to see his performances with the Olyroos in France and are delighted that he has been rewarded with another opportunity.”
