It represents the Olyroos’ first camp on home soil since the bungled qualification campaign for the Paris at the U23 Asian Cup in Qatar in April earlier this year.

Australia did not make it past the group stage at the tournament after a loss to Indonesia and scoreless draws with Qatar and Jordan.

The Olyroos failed to score a single goal despite dominating possession, chance creation and shots on target in every game. 

The performance was the Olyroos’ worst in any Olympic qualification tournament since football at the Games introduced the U23 age restriction in 1992.

Squad selection was a major issue for Vidmar with the omission of Nestory Irankunda, then of Adelaide United, over maturity concerns dominating debate.

The teenage forward, now of Bayern Munich, was handed his first Socceroos cap by Graham Arnold less than two months later.

Vidmar’s chances of advancing beyond the group stages were not helped by several European-based players, who had formed the cornerstone of the U23 squad, being made unavailable by their clubs.

Nevertheless, it still contained Nishan Velupillay, Garang Kuol and Mohamed Toure, all of whom have represented the Socceroos over the last two years.

With stronger squads at his disposal in the previous 12 months, Australia had beaten France and Mexico at youth tournaments in a run where the Olyroos picked up nine wins from 13 games.

That has formed the basis of FA’s decision to look to maintain Vidmar’s involvement with the U23 national team after conducting a review of the Olyroos’ failure to qualify for Paris.

One of the review’s key findings was that at U23 level across Asia, only Tajikistan and China had played fewer games in the lead-up to the qualification tournament.

The Olyroos play Western Sydney Wanderers in a trial match upon the conclusion of this week’s camp.

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