Italiano says Olyroos 'will give everything for each other'
One of the Subway Olyroos' more experienced members, Jacob Italiano, has seamlessly slotted into the squad dynamic after joining the group on Sunday (April 14).
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He featured in Borussia Mönchengladbach II’s 0-0 draw on Saturday (April 13) before heading to Doha to link up with the squad.
“It's been good to finally get here with the boys, I could feel straight away when I came that everyone had a really good training camp building up to the first game,” he said.
“I'm feeling good and up to speed and ready to go.”
Speaking on his current season in Germany, Italiano said it has been a good period in which he has got more of his confidence back.
“I'm enjoying my football, I'm playing consistently which has not always been the case with me since I've been there,” he said.
“I've scored a couple (of goals) in the past couple months; I've been getting forward and enjoying my football.”
Italiano was on the bench for the Olyroos' draw against Jordan in the opening match of the tournament. He said the squad were a little disappointed following the match.
“I think initially in the change room it was a little bit down, everyone was a little bit disappointed and understandably so, because we all felt that it was a game that we could definitely have got more from,” he said.
“But then once you reflect and think of the bigger picture, it's a clean sheet, it's one point on the board and it's definitely not a bad result.”
Italiano reinforced the confidence within the squad with a reminder of what the goal for this tournament is.
“We’re going to win this Asian Cup and that's all our goal, and we're going to do everything we can to achieve that,” he said.
That common goal is helped by the strong bonds within the squad, which he said has continued to grow over the past few camps.
“There's quite a big group within us that have been together for a long, long time now, many years, so we've definitely built a big strong bond,” he said.
“The group is amazing; we all give everything for each other. We're all so confident because we've played so many games together.
“Going into every game we look at each other and we know that we can come out on top.”
And to finish he spoke to the pride he feels wearing the green and gold and representing his country.
He said: “Every time you put the shirt on it's it means so much more than anything else, you just want to give everything.”
AFC U-23 ASIAN CUP QATAR 2024™ FINALS – GROUP A
Australia 0
Jordan 0
Monday, 15 April 2024
Kick-off: 4pm (local) / 11pm AEST
Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Indonesia v Australia
Thursday, 18 April 2024
Kick-off: 4pm (local) / 11pm AEST
Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
Qatar v Australia
Sunday, 21 April 2024
Kick-off: 6:30pm (local) / 1:30am AEST (Monday, 22 April)
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha