Although he’s the youngest member of the squad, Sydney FC defender Alex Gersbach says he feels right at home with the Olyroos as he prepares to face Jordan in a crunch Olympic Qualifying group match.
Playing in both the opening round loss to the UAE and the comfortable 2-0 victory over Vietnam, Gersbach said the squad need to approach the “must win match” with confidence and not be afraid of their opposition.
“I feel really comfortable in this team, they’re a great bunch of footballers and an even better bunch of guys,” he said.
“Everyone has welcomed me really well this camp and that’s made us feel comfortable and allowed us to play some really good football.
“It’s do or die,” he continued,
“It’s sudden death just like our last game against Vietnam so we’ve got to approach it the same way I think, we can’t be scared, we’ve got to be confident and stick to our game plan.
“There’s plenty of confidence in the group, we’ve got to stay focussed and really take it to Jordan.”
While Gersbach called for a repeat performance from their Vietnam game he stressed the need to constantly improve as the Olyroos vie for their first Olympic games since Beijing in 2008.
“It was really good to get the first win [against Vietnam],” he said.
“We really wanted it in the first game but it wasn’t to be so it was really important to get the win against and we just have to replicate that performance against Jordan.
“We were a lot better against Vietnam but we have to be better again against Jordan,” he continued.
“I think Jordan will play similarly to the UAE so we have to make sure we’re solid defensively and keep a clean sheet and then create some chances and score some goals.”
The Olyroos are next in action against Jordan on Wednesday, 20 January (Thursday, 21 January Australian time) kick off 3.30am AEDT.
