Melbourne City FC goalkeeper Thomas Glover has lauded Australia’s squad depth at the AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020, and urged the side to remain calm and composed leading up to the team’s semi-final fixture against either Korea Republic or Jordan on Wednesday.
Speaking live on Fox Sports News from Bangkok the day after keeping a clean sheet in Australia’s 1-0 extra-time victory over Syria at the iconic Rajamangala Stadium, Glover praised his teammates for being ready to make an impact on the each match be it from the opening whistle or off the bench.
“All the boys are great,” Glover told Daniel Garb.
“It is not one to eleven, it is twelve to twenty-three as well.
"We have got a big squad here and everyone is ready to go, I feel a part of this team and I want to do big things with this team.
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“I have been in the national team set-up for a while and I don’t think I have played in a team with this much depth. Last night was the perfect example of that – ‘Aido’ (Aiden O’Neill) got the assist and (Al Hassan) Toure scored and that won us the game at the end of the day.
"It is good to have good depth because you can rotate players and you can rest players.”
While Glover admitted the squad is naturally delighted to have taken another step towards qualification to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games having reached the semi-finals of the AFC U-23 Championship for the first time in Australia’s history, he knows the team’s job in Bangkok is far from done.
“Obviously everyone is stoked but at the end of the day it is just another box that we’ve ticked,” he said.
“Last night was last night and we have got to put that behind us and look forward to the next game.
"We can’t get ahead of ourselves because we haven’t qualified for anything, we will just play it calm and look forward to the next match.”
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Glover, who was previously on the books of Premier League heavyweights Tottenham Hotspur, said he feels the squad is developing well at the tournament and will be ready for either Korea Republic or Jordan come Wednesday.
“I think if you look back at the first game to last night’s game it was a big difference,” he said.
“We are growing each game and the boys are used to each other now and these conditions, and it is only going upwards.”
“No game now is going to be easy but we are growing.
"We played South Korea in a friendly in Malaysia and we drew with them.
"We haven’t played Jordan, (but) either opposition we will be ready for it and we are going to go there to win.”
Australia’s semi-final at the AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020 will take place at the Thammasat Stadium at 8.15pm (local time) on Wednesday, 22 January 2020.
Kick-off in Australia will be at 12.15am on Thursday morning, with the game to be shown live on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports, and via the My Football Live YouTube Channel.
Australia U-23 Men’s National Team – Upcoming Fixture
Australia U-23 v Korea Republic U-23 OR Jordan U-23 – AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020 Semi Final
Date: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Venue: Thammasat Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand
Kick-off: 8.15pm (local); 12.15pm +1 (AEDT)
Stream/Broadcast (Australia Only): Fox Sports, Kayo Sports, My Football YouTube Channel
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