Monterosso's exceptional season in the National Youth League has seen him gain selection in the Qantas Young Socceroos (U20) squad for a four-match tour of South America.

Monterosso's inclusion in  Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen's 20 player squad is his first call up in the green and gold, his selection just reward after he led the goal scoring charts for the second year running in the National Youth League.

The unassuming striker, who turned 19 on Friday, netted 17 goals in the 2009/10 National Youth League Season after playing the majority of the year with United's Youth side, while he made five A-League appearances off the bench in his first season on the Reds' senior roster.

A former South Australian Sports Institute product, Monterosso admits he did not expect the call up as he juggles his football commitments with studying for a university degree.

"Not really to be honest," Monterosso replied on if he had thought about being selected.

"There are a lot of good players out there, but in saying that it shows that if you persevere and work hard eventually it does pay off.

 "I got the phone call at uni just before I was about to go into a lecture. It was pretty surreal, I was in awe for a bit but I'm just glad to be part of the team."

Monterosso will meet up with the rest of the squad in Sydney on Saturday before jetting off to play two matches against the Paraguay U20 National team and two against the Argentina U20 national Team.

"I'm not too sure what to expect, I'm just going to go there with an open mind and I'm really looking forward to it," Monterosso added.

The tour is part of the squad's preparations for the AFC U-19 Championship 2010 which will be held from 3-17 October in China.