West Australian duo Daniel Bennie and Jaylan Pearman played their part in the Young Socceroos historic victory at the Under-20 Asian Cup. Australia’s Under-20 side overcame Saudi Arabia 5-4 in a nail-biting penalty shootout in yesterday’s decider in Shenzhen, China, where the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 after extra time.
Coach Trevor Morgan’s team, made up largely of teenagers, enjoyed becoming the first Australian side to lift the continent’s junior crown in the tournament’s 66-year history. Victory in the final put the seal on a remarkable tournament for Australia, who won all six games, scoring 16 goals, and booked their place at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile later this year.
The Young Socceroos kicked off their campaign with a dominant 5-1 thrashing of Kyrgyzstan, Bennie chiming in with the sides second goal. Bennie was on target again three days later when Australia secured their place in the knock-out stages after accounting for Qatar 3-1. Australia sealed top spot in Group A with a 2-1 win over China.
A quarter-final meeting with Iraq had Australia recover from going a goal down twice before prevailing 3-2. Pearman stepped into the spotlight with the Young Socceroos second goal in a 2-0 semi-final victory over Japan. An epic tournament Saudi Arabia went all the way to penalties, Pearman converting Australia’s third in the shoot-out.
Bennie, 18, has tallied up nine first team outings for Queens Park Rangers since joining the English Championship side ten months ago. A Sorrento junior, he played National Premier Leagues for Perth Glory before turning professional with the club in July 2023, Bennie played 25 times for Glory across the 2023/24 season after which he moved to London.
Pearman, 18, has not looked back since gaining his senior debut for Glory at the start of the year, starting six games and scoring the solitary goal in January’s 1-0 win over Auckland FC. Like Bennie, he started out with Sorrento and progressed to Glory’s NPL side before signing scholarship papers with the club in mid-2023.
