The Australia national under-20 soccer team, known colloquially as the Young Socceroos, represents

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in international under-20

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia,

Football Australia Football Australia is the sports governing body, governing body of Soccer in Australia, soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Au ...

(FA), which is currently a member of the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

(AFC) and the regional

ASEAN Football Federation The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Fo ...

(AFF) since leaving the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

(OFC) in 2006. The team's official nickname is the ''Young Socceroos''. The team has won twelve OFC titles, one AFC title, and five AFF titles. They have represented Australia at the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

tournaments on 15 occasions with their best result being a fourth-place finish in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

History

2006 AFC U-19 Championship

In their first foray into Asia in 2006 the team lost the quarterfinals of the AFC Youth Championship, to South Korea,"Australia bows out to Koreans"
FFA, 7 November 2006 despite being considered one of the stronger teams. This was the first time the Young Socceroos had failed to qualify for the

since 1989. Subsequently, on 5 February 2007 the FFA decided not to renew Ange Postecoglou's contract as head coach,"Postecoglou Contract Not Renewed"
, FFA, 8 February 2007 he was replaced by former Socceroo, and AIS head coach Steve O'Connor."New National Youth Coaches Appointed"
, FFA, 5 March 2007

2008 AFC U-19 Championship

On 24 June 2008 Jan Versleijen was appointed as the new U-20 coach ahead of the 2008 tournament, with the FFA eager to avoid a repeat of 2006, and qualify for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt."AIS/U20 Head Coach named"
FFA, 24 June 2008 In preparation for the tournament, Australia competed in the 2008 ASEAN Youth Championships in Thailand alongside China, Korea Republic and Thailand."Qantas Young Socceroos named for Asean tournament"
, FFA, 29 September 2008 A competition they ultimately won through a penalty shoot-out against South Korea."Qantas Young Socceroos win AFF U19 Championship"
, FFA, 12 October 2008 The 2008 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Australia topped Group D with wins over Thailand and Jordan and a 1–1 draw with Uzbekistan. Australia then needed an extra time winner from Mitch Nichols to overcome North Korea in the quarter-final before losing 3–0 to UAE in the semi-final. However, making it through to the semi-final was enough to qualify for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Australia qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

after finishing in the final four of the 2008 AFC U-19 Championship. Despite a late James Holland penalty, Australia lost their opening game to the Czech Republic 2–1 before Costa Rica defeated the 'Young Socceroos' 3–0. In the final group game against Brazil, Aaron Mooy gave Australia an early lead however the final result saw Brazil win 3–1 and Australia was eliminated without a point.

2010 AFC U-19 Championship

To qualify for the tournament, Australia travelled to Bandung, Indonesia in November 2009 for the qualification group and proceeded after finishing second in a group of six nations. Wins over Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Singapore proceeded to a 0–0 draw with the hosts, Indonesia and a loss to Japan. Australia competed in the 2010 AFC Under 19 Championship Finals held in

Zibo Zibo () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Bi ...

, China."China to host AFC U-19 Championship Finals"
AFC, 18 February 2010 The tournament was held from 3 to 17 October 2010 in

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. The matches were played at the Zibo Sports Complex Stadium and Linzi Stadium. Wins over Yemen and Iran followed by a 0–0 draw with South Korea meant Australia topped the group on goal difference. In the quarter-final against United Arab Emirates, Australia twice led before UAE equalised and took the game to extra time. Two extra time goals for Australia set up a semi-final with Saudi Arabia, which Australia won 2–0 thanks to a Kerem Bulut double. The final was played on 17 October 2010 against North Korea. Despite leading in the first half, Australia couldn't hold on and lost the final 3–2. Kerem Bulut was the tournament's top scorer with 7 goals. Australia qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Australia qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in

after finishing in the final four of the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. Australia was drawn in a group comprising

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Australia failed to progress out of the group after finishing last with one point. The first fixture resulted in a one all draw with Ecuador after Tommy Oar scored a late equaliser. The next game saw Costa Rica defeat Australia 3–2. In the final game against Spain, Australia was down by four goals after just 18 minutes. In the 27th minute Kerem Bulut grabbed a goal back before Spain made it 5–1 with a 31st-minute penalty. This was to be the final score.

2012 AFC U-19 Championship

To participate in the

2012 AFC U-19 Championship The 2012 AFC U-19 Championship is the 37th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC approved UAE as hosts of the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship on 23 November 2011.

the Young Socceroos first had to qualify. The confederation was geographically separated and Australia was grouped with other East Asian nations, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Macau. These five nations met in Malaysia in November 2011 and Australia proceeded through the group by winning all four games, scoring 20 goals and conceding just 1. The

was hosted by

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

in November. Australia was seeded for the tournament along with the hosts and South Korea and North Korea. Australia's opening game was against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. The only goal of the game came in the 11th minute for Australia when Corey Gameiro scored. Gameiro was on the scoresheet in both of the following group games when his 81st-minute equaliser against

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and his 91st-minute equaliser against

meant both games finished 1–1. The critical late goal to Saudi Arabia meant Australia not only proceeded on to the next stage at the expense of the Saudis but also topped the group. Australia took on

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

in the quarter-final and it was Gameiro scoring all three goals in a 3–0 win that put Australia through to the semi-final and secured qualification to the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Two second half goals to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

meant Australia were eliminated from the tournament. Gameiro's six goals were one short of the top goalscorer award.

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Paul Okon coached Australia in the

where they failed to win a game despite scoring the first goal in all 3 fixtures. Daniel De Silva gave Australia the lead before Colombia levelled the game at 1–1. Joshua Brillante scored early before El Salvador scored twice before halftime and Jamie Maclaren scored in the 52nd minute but again Australia couldn't hold on with the hosts, with Turkey scoring twice. These results mean Australia has failed to win in any of their last 13 U-20 World Cup fixtures with the last victory coming over Brazil on 4 December 2003.

2014 AFC U-19 Championship

Australia started the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship campaign by participating in the qualifiers in October 2013. They travelled to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

where they were joined by

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

. Mongolia had withdrawn. The first game was an easy 7–0 win over Hong Kong. Peter Skapetis scored four goals. They then defeated Chinese Taipei 3–0 before a humiliating 5–1 loss to Vietnam. Despite this, Australia was to proceed to the finals tournament as one of the best second placed teams. The 2014 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

in October 2014. Paul Okon again was head coach of the Young Socceroos for the tournament. The opening game was against

. Brandon Borrello gave Australia a late lead but an 85th-minute penalty to the UAE saw the score end in a draw. The second match was a 1–0 win over

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

through a

Jaushua Sotirio Jaushua James Elie Sotirio (born 11 October 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for A-League Men club Sydney FC. Born in Australia, he plays for the New Caledonia national team. Club career Western Sydney Wanderers Sot ...

goal. The final group game had Australia leading

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

in the 66th minute thanks to Stefan Mauk. However, an 82nd-minute equaliser would prove devastating for Australia as this, and the result in the concurrent game placed UAE, Uzbekistan and Australia all on five points with Australia having the inferior goal difference and hence elimination from the tournament. Many observers sighted Australia's lack of desire to score more goals against Indonesia as the contributing factor to the elimination. Australia failed to qualify for the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

. This is just the second time since 1989 that Australia hasn't competed in the biennial event.

2016 AFC U-19 Championship

Australia qualified for the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship that was held in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

in October 2016. In the qualifiers hosted by Laos, they finished runner-up in their group and progressed on goal difference as one of the five best second placed teams. Comfortable wins over Philippines and Laos were followed by a heavy 3–0 loss to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Steve Kuzmanovski finished as Australia's top scorer with three goals. This was the sixth consecutive U-19 Championship that Australia qualified for. Australia was coached by Ufuk Talay for the tournament and was drawn into

Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA Worl ...

. The opening fixture was a 1–0 victory against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

through a goal to Mario Shabow. The second game was against

. The Uzbeks led by three until they suffered a send off. Australia then responded through two second half penalties to Liam Youlley and George Blackwood however the final result was a 3–2 win for Uzbekistan. Australia needed to win against

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

in the final group game to progress. Anthony Kalik had an early penalty saved and was later sent off for two yellow cards. The game finished 0–0 and Australia were eliminated from the tournament. As a consequence, they also failed to qualify for the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

. This is the first time that Australia has failed to qualify for two consecutive U-20 World Cups.

2018 AFC U-19 Championship

The 2018 AFC U-19 Championship was hosted by

in October and November. Australia commenced their

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the tournament in

. The matches had originally been scheduled to be played in Shepparton, Victoria however the Australian government refused entry to the North Korean squad. As a result, the matches were moved to neutral Vietnam although the costs associated with the shift in venue saw

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

withdraw. This left just two opponents in the group, North Korea and

. In Australia's first match against Hong Kong, Ramy Najjarine scored early and then a late double from Moudi Najjar gave Australia a 3–0 win. They then defeated North Korea 4–1 with goals again to Najjarine and Najjar as well as Fabian Monge and Denis Genreau. With Ante Milicic now in charge, Australia started the tournament against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Bekasi Bekasi (, ) is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta. It serves as a commuter town, commuter city within the Jakarta m ...

. The Koreans scored first in the 55th minute however Najjarine curled in an 89th-minute equaliser to share the points. The second match was against

which Australia won 2–1 through goals to Angus Thurgate and Ben Folami. Reports emerged after the game that many of the Australian squad had been suffering from illness. In their last group match against

, Australia needed at least a draw to advance and they finished 1–1, with Oliver Puflett scoring the goal in the 10th minute. In the quarter-final, Australia lost 3–1 to

, with Nathaniel Atkinson scoring their only goal. Elimination at the quarter-final stage meant that Australia failed to qualify for the Under-20 World Cup for a record third consecutive time.

2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup

Australia were drawn in

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

alongside

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

. They had a disappointing start, lost 0-1 against Vietnam, but bounced back with a 3-2 win over Iran and a 9-1 thrashing of Qatar, which help them qualified for the quarter-finals as group runners-up. In the quarter-finals, Australia faced the home team

. Playing with host, Australia had to endure a series of fierce pressure but unexpectedly took the lead in the 77th minute thanks to Gabriel Popovic, but just 2 minutes later the team was equalized by Uzbekistan thanks to a goal by Zafarmurod Abdurakhmatov. The two teams drew 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time. In the penalty shootout, Australia lost 4-5, bitterly watching the home team win the right to enter the semi-finals along with a ticket to the

2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 23rd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth Association football, football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since i ...

2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup

Australia were drawn in

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

alongside host team

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. The team won all 3 group stage matches, earning 9 points and taking top spot in Group A. In the quarter-finals, Australia defeated

3-2, with a late winner from Alex Badolato helping the team qualify for the semi-finals and return to the U-20 World Cup after 12 years. Entering the semi-finals against a

, the team defeated Japan 2-0. Australia qualified for the final against

. Australia scored early through Louis Agosti in the 24th minute but could not maintain the lead. Saudi Arabia scored a late first half equaliser through Talal Haji in first half injury time. The two teams were tied 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time. In the penalty shootout, Australia won 5-4, thereby winning the AFC U-20 Asian Cup for the first time and the first Asian youth football championship since Australia joined the AFC.

2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Players

Current under-20 squad

The following 22-player squad was called up for a friendly series against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 6–9 June. ''Caps and goals correct as of the game against

on 6 June 2025.''

Current under-18 squad

The following 20-player squad was called up for the 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup on 30 May–11 June. Nominally an U18 competition, the cup is intended to offer early exposure for the U20 group of players to be involved in the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup qualification cycle. ''Caps and goals correct as of the game against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 4 June 2025.''

Recent call-ups

''The following players have been called up within the last 12 months and remain eligible for selection.'' * ^INJ Withdrew due to an injury. * ^WD Withdrew.

Results and fixtures

*The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend

2024

2025

Younger cohort

Records

Players with most appearances

:''Players in bold are still available for selection.''

Players with most Goals Scored