Australia appoint Belgian Abrams as new youth director

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia have appointed former Belgium youth coach Eric Abrams, who helped bring through the European country's latest golden crop of talent, as their new technical director responsible for youth development.

Abrams spent over a decade in charge of the Belgium under-15 and under-17 teams, aiding the development of current internationals like Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, Romulu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and Jan Verthongen.

Abrams had spent the last year in Saudi Arabia working with the youth team of Al Ahli but will now take on the responsibility of finding and developing under-16 players for men's coach Ange Postecoglou and women's boss Alen Stajcic.

"I'm excited to be starting work with the youth structures in Australia," Abrams said in a statement.

"I have heard a lot about Australian football and I look forward to working with the players and coaches to help develop young players for the local leagues and national teams."

Australia's under-16 boys team were knocked out on penalties in the semi-finals of the AFC Championship in Thailand last week by eventual winners North Korea.

(Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)