Just one opponent stands in the way of the Young Socceroos and a 2025 Asian Cup win. Japan were brushed aside on Wednesday in the semi-final and the final will see the young men in green and gold up against Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

It has been a stunning and inspiring run for the youngsters, with not a point dropped thus far at the tournament and the pass mark for Trevor Morgan’s team reached well before the final.

The performance flies in the face of many critics of the A-League and the youth development systems that are responsible for producing the crop of players that will now all have their eyes on Olyroos selection, before one day eventually becoming Socceroos and playing in a World Cup for their nation.

But what exactly does it mean for Australian football if the 20s are to walk away from this current edition of the Asian Cup with the silverware? I would argue it means three distinct things.

Firstly, and whether or not the boys are triumphant on Saturday night, the development occurring in Australian football is doing a far better job than some would have you believe.

Frankly, I’m a little sick of people telling me that the male players who made up the so-called Golden Generation of Australian football in the early years of the current century, were somehow magically educated in the game via Australian coaches and clubs.

A few were, but the best of the bunch were players who went abroad early and learnt their crafts in top notch development structures at highly professional clubs. A further group headed abroad at a slightly later age, frustrated by the fact that the NSL, in which they were destined to play, was simply not going to develop them to the fullest in the long term.

Secondly, the result being achieved by the Young Socceroos in China is testament to the changing face of football globally.

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When Australian footballers ventured abroad in the 20th century, they did so prior to the explosion in Asian and African football and a true embracing of the global game by the big leagues in England, France, Spain, Germany etc.

The collective rise in the number of African players across those leagues over the last 25 years has been instructive as to just how difficult it is for footballers from all corners of the globe to crack the big time. Names like Viduka, Kewell and Johnston did so, and champions of the Socceroos they will always be, however the pool of players against whom they were competing was not as broad.

(Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Sadly, some have consistently used the absence of Australians in the English Premier League to bemoan the quality being produced in Australia when in fact, they should potentially be reinforcing the increased competitiveness in the global playing market and actually be watching and supporting the brilliant Australian talent on display.

It strikes me that there is a still a group of NSL dinosaurs that simply cannot see the facts before their very eyes and from discussions with some of them, I’m almost certain they don’t want to.

Thirdly, a trophy held aloft on Saturday night would mean plenty for the future of the Socceroos and where the national team is headed over the next ten years. When age restricted teams do well in Asia, the natural flow on to the open squad is usually a fait accompli.

The Olyroos are a very good and developing team, despite a few disappointments over the last 12 to 18 months. The Socceroos are fighting hard in the current World Cup qualifying campaign and a handful of results away from automatic qualification for the tournament to be held in North America.

With an Under 20s squad bounding towards an Asian Cup victory (fingers crossed) and blessed with the confidence the performance overall will have brought them, the stocks look plentiful when it comes to the long-term.

Many of the men currently in the Olyroos squad were exposed on a national level during the pandemic and the current Young Socceroos have mostly been produced through the A-League academies that continue to remind people of just how much football talent exists in Australia.

It will mean a heck of a lot should the Young Socceroos walk away with the Under 20s Asian Cup, especially after a week where Australian football has, once again, copped a bashing from an ignorant fool in the mainstream media.