Ikonomidis, Brillante and Taggart headline Olyroos squad

Aurelio Vidmar has named a 23-man squad for the AFC U-23 Championship Doha 2016 in Qatar from 14-30 January, which is the final round of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Socceroos youngster Chris Ikonomidis scored his debut goal in Serie B. (Getty) Source: Getty Images

Socceroos rookie Chris Ikonomidis headlines a squad that also includes overseas-based starlets Daniel de Silva and Mustafa Amini, as well as 12 players from the A-League.

Defending A-League champions/premiers Melbourne Victory have five players in the squad with the selection of Thomas Deng, Giancarlo Gallifuoco, Scott Galloway, Jason Geria and Connor Pain testament to the pathway created by Victory coach Kevin Muscat.

Brisbane Roar trio Brandon Borrello, James Donachie and Jamie Maclaren will be joined by Sydney FC pair Andrew Hoole and Alex Gerbasch while Paul Izzo (Central Coast Mariners) and Stefan Mauk (Melbourne City) will also fly the Hyundai A-League flag.

“We have put together an exciting squad that includes some players with Socceroos experience and also illustrates the strength of the Hyundai A-League and its position as a true pathway for national team footballers,” Vidmar said.

“The squad contains 12 players from our National Competition and the A-League clubs and coaches should be congratulated for the part they play in developing these players.

“We have taken the group through an important journey with qualifying, camps and friendly matches but this is a step up in class that they have to take in their development as international football players.

“We head to Qatar for a tough tournament but we have a good group of players that and we’re confident we can qualify for the Olympic Games, which is a great opportunity for the players.”

The Olyroos will head to Dubai for a seven day camp before the opening match in Group D against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 14 January at the Grand Hamad Stadium. The Olyroos also play Vietnam (17 January) and Jordan (20 January) with the top two teams progressing to the quarter finals.

The top three teams will qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games Football Tournament.

Surname	First Name	DOB	Club
AMINI	Mustafa	20-04-93	Randers FC, Denmark
ANTONIS	Terry	26-11-93	PAOK, Greece
BORRELLO	Brandon	25-07-95	Brisbane Roar FC
BRILLANTE	Josh	25-03-93	Calcio Como, Italy
BURGESS	Cameron	21-10-95	Fulham FC, England
DE SILVA	Daniel	06-03-97	Roda JC Kerkrade, Holland
DENG	Thomas	03-20-97	Melbourne Victory FC
DONACHIE	James	14-05-93	Brisbane Roar FC
DUNCAN	Jack	19-04-93	Randers FC, Denmark
EDWARDS	Ryan	17-11-93	Partick Thistle, Scotland
GALLIFUOCO	Giancarlo	12-01-94	Melbourne Victory FC
GALLOWAY	Scott	25-04-95	Melbourne Victory FC
GERIA	Jason	10-05-93	Melbourne Victory FC
GERSBACH	Alex	08-05-97	Sydney FC
HOOLE	Andrew	22-10-93	Sydney FC
IKONOMIDIS	Christopher	04-05-95	SS Lazio, Italy
IZZO	Paul	06-01-95	Central Coast Mariners
LENNOX	Aaron	19-02-93	Kilmarnock FC, Scotland
MACLAREN	Jamie	29-07-93	Brisbane Roar FC
MAUK	Stefan	22-10-95	Melbourne City FC
PAIN	Connor	11-11-93	Melbourne Victory FC
TAGGART	Adam	02-06-93	Dundee United FC, Scotland
UGARKOVIC	Steven	19-08-94	Uncontracted