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An amazing experience for these U12/13 boys!

Western Australia’s ECU Joondalup will be posting live updates whilst in Poland representing Australia at the 2012 Volkswagen Junior World Masters. The tournament takes place from 30 May to 3 June. Stay tuned for images, stories and videos of their amazing journey as they take on the best teams the world has to offer.

Friday 1st June - 8:30pm CEST


The first ever Australian team at the Volkswagen Junior World Masters did themselves and their country proud on day one of the tournament, emerging from their opening three games with a win, a draw and a loss.

The highlight of the day was a great 1-0 win against a strong Russian side thanks to a goal from James Owen. The win came after a 1-1 draw with Kazakhstan in the opening game. The day was rounded off against Italy and another tight game which lead to a disappointing 1-0 defeat. They go into day two knowing that two wins against Mexico and Sweden will be enough to guarantee a place in the quarter finals.

The 2012 Volkswagen Junior World Masters is taking place at Legia Warsaw's Pepsi Arena with day one seeing 40 games and strong performances from pre-tournament favourites Germany, Brazil and Italy. Games were played in tough, wet conditions as rain set in for the day.

ECU Joondalup from Western Australia became the first team to play for Australia in the Volkswagen Junior World Masters as they kicked off their campaign against Kazakhstan in a tight game at 10:30am local time. Australia looked to be on top in the early stages but conceded a goal in the first half before fighting back in the second half. The referee gave a penalty kick after Bayley Brown-Montgomery was fouled in the box and midfielder Sven Begiecevic stepped up to cooly slot the ball home off the underside of the crossbar and secure a point in the opening game.

Russia looked like a tough opponent on paper although they were coming off a 2-0 opening loss to Italy. Strong performances at the back from Ashwin Jayakumar and Stefan Vranesevic kept the talented Russian attack at bay and James Owen was able to score a goal in the second half for the win.

The third game against one of the pre-tournament favourites, Italy, was an experience the ECU Joondalup boys will never forget against a true powerhouse in world football. They matched Italy across the park and were unfortunate to go down 1-0.

Italy are top of Group A with four wins from four leaving Australia likely to take second place with two wins tomorrow against Sweden and Mexico which would almost certainly lead to a quarter final against Germany.

Group A as it stands:

Team         Played      Points
Italy            4         12
Russia         4         6
Kazakhstan      4         5
Australia      3         4
Sweden         4         4
Mexico         3         0

Thanks Slee 45. I particularly enjoyed the interviews in the video clip. What an amazing experience for everyone involved. Good luck to the boys on day 2.

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Saturday 2nd June - 8pm CEST


An outstanding performance from Australia at the Volkswagen Junior World Masters saw them qualify for the quarter finals after finishing second in their group. They went into day two knowing that two wins in the final two group matches would secure a quarter final place and that is exactly what they achieved. A 2-1 win against Mexico was followed by a nail biting 1-0 win against Sweden to book a quarter final place against tournament favourites Germany.

The Germans, an academy team from Bundesliga giants Hertha Berlin, had too much for club team ECU Joondalup from Perth and went through 3-1 before going on to lift the trophy in the final against Italy.

The Australian team emerged from the tournament with huge credit in the knowledge that having played six matches they only lost to the two teams that competed in the final - Germany and day one opponents Italy.

Australia kicked off day two against Mexico and took an early 2-0 lead thanks to two goals from forward Ryan Charles. A swirling wind was causing both teams problems, and in the second half the Mexicans got a deserved goal back but Australia had too much for them and held out for a 2-1 win.

That meant it all came down to the final group game against Sweden. Anything other than a win would see Russia progress to the quarter finals with group winners Italy. The tension on the sidelines from ECU Joondalup's loyal and vocal band of supporters was huge. The match was poised at 0-0 and in spite of having chances Australia weren't able to make the break through until a goal from Ayden Dragun with just two minutes to go sent the crowd and the players into ecstasy. They were able to hold on for a 1-0 win which secured a quarter final spot and qualification from a very tough group.

Final Group A table:

Team      Played      Points
Italy         5         15
Australia      5         10      
Russia      5         9
Kazakhstan   5         6   
Sweden      5         4
Mexico      5         0


The draw couldn't have been tougher with a quarter final spot against an undefeated and well fancied German team who had previously beaten the likes of Argentina 5-0. They scored three goals in the first half however a strong second half fight back and a conciliation goal by midfielder Sven Begiecevic meant that Australia could hold their heads high with a 3-1 defeat.

Germany went on to beat Switzerland in the semi finals and line up a final against Italy who had beaten Brazil in a tense penalty shoot out in the other semi final. That meant that the two teams who had defeated Australia went on to play in the final in Pepsi Stadium in the curtain raiser before this evening's international match between Poland and Andorra. In a one sided final Germany deservedly took the crown of Volkswagen Junior World Masters champions with a 5-0 win.

The Volkswagen Junior Masters experience is one which the boys from ECU Joondalup will never forget and as Australia's first ever representatives in the tournament they have set the bar high for all teams that follow in the biggest youth football tournament in the world.

Well done to these young lads and the club, they should be pleased with themselves.

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