The CommBank Young Socceroos have begun their AFC U20 Asian Cup China 2027™️ Qualifiers in Vientiane with a solid 2-0 win over hosts Laos on Monday evening.
A first half penalty from Marcus Neill and a goal from Lewis Marinucci after the restart ensured a rather comfortable three points for Trevor Morgan’s side.
The Aussies mustered a plethora of chances and had they converted a fraction of those they could have easily have prevailed by an even greater margin.
In the 13th minute, Australia were awarded a penalty when Jai Rose’s cut-back was handled in the box leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
Striker Neill stepped up and dispatched the ensuing spot-kick with aplomb, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way with his effort nestling into the bottom left corner.
Michael Pratezina drove forward and unleashed a ferocious strike from 25-yards out which stung the gloves of the Laos goalkeeper, forcing a great save.
Beyond the half hour mark, Rose flashed a half volley from the edge of the box as the ball spilled out from a corner, before the hosts thought they had found the equaliser through Odin Siphanit’s finish but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
Australia continued to push for a second and some incisive build-up play from Haine Eames and Will Dobson in midfield ended in Arthur De Lima’s one-on-one shot being blocked for a corner.
The striker squandered a glorious chance to make it 2-0 after latching onto Rose’s through ball and rounding the onrushing goalkeeper only to see his attempt fly wide of the empty net.
However, they did not have to wait long after half time to extend their lead with Pratezina’s in-swinging corner cleverly chested home by an unmarked Lewis Marinucci at the back post.
The Young Socceroos maintained their pressure in attack creating several openings but were left to rue their profligacy in front of goal.
Morgan turned to his bench following the 60th minute, using all five of his substitutions across two windows as he looked to rotate the squad and provide a rest to some and opportunity to others with the short turnaround between matches.
Despite the alterations, the momentum remained with the Aussies and they continued to play on the front foot without adding to the scoresheet.
The contest finished 2-0 with Australia moving top of Group H with Malaysia and Indonesia playing out a 0-0 draw earlier in the day.
The Aussies will take on Malaysia next up on Thursday, 3 September at 6:30pm AEST.
STARTING XI: 1.ROBERT COOK (GK), 2.PETER ANTONIOU, 3.LEWIS MARINUCCI, 8.HAINE EAMES (C) (6.DANILO TREFFILETTI 72′), 10.WILL DOBSON (7.BECKHAM BAKER 66′), 11.ARTHUR DE LIMA, 15.JAI ROSE (19.MICHAEL GHOSSAINI 72′), 16.ALEX BOLTON (5.ARCHIE TRIMBOLI 66′), 17.MICHAEL PRATEZINA, 21.MARCUS NEILL, 23.LUKA DIDULICA (13.JASPER CHIPMAN 66′)
SUBSTITUTES NOT USED: 4.FEYZO KASUMOVIC, 9.ALAAT ABDUL-RAHMAN, 12.JAI AJANOVIC (GK), 14.JESSE MANTELL,18.GEORGE PLUSNIN (GK), 20.OLIVER DRAGICEVIC, 22.EMILE KATRIB
YELLOW CARDS: 10.WILL DOBSON 30′, MARCUS NEILL 90′
RED CARDS: Nil
CommBank Young Socceroos 2 (Neill (p) 14′, Marinucci 49′)
Laos U20 0
Date: Monday, 31 August 2026
Venue: New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane
