As Michael Carrick prepares his group for a bumper festive period full of fixtures, he will have had mixed emotions as Australia’s squad for their upcoming Asia Cup tournament was announced.
The Socceroos made public their 26-player squad with a Tweet on the their official ‘X’ platform with goalkeeper Tom Glover missing out on a spot.
There has been a heavy focus on the potential absence of two of Middlesbrough’s goalkeepers during January, with Seny Dieng likely to be called up to represent Senegal in the African Cup of Nations, and Tom Glover a possible representative for Australia in the Asia Cup.
Glover now available
As it turns out, Glover-who played in Boro’s comfortable 3-0 Carabao Cup win against Port Vale-has not been named in the squad and will now be available to play for the Championship side during January and February.
Despite the individual disappointment expected to be felt by the former Melbourne City keeper, it is a welcome boost for Michael Carrick who may not have to trigger any immediate plans in the market to cover the loss of his number one and number two.
However, that boost has been tempered by the news that he will be without Riley McGree and Sami Silvera who will travel to Qatar with their International teammates.
Silvera has progressed well this season after arriving in the summer, and after an uneasy start to life on Teesside, where he faced criticism for a lack of end product, he has made a valuable contribution to the side, particularly in the Carabao Cup campaign. Often being introduced from the bench, he has had a positive impact in a number of games, scoring 4 goals and adding 3 assists in all competitions. Starting only 9 games, his stats show he is able to adapt quickly and effect games when coming on as a substitute.
McGree a big loss
In the case of Riley McGree, it is discouraging and maybe even surprising to learn of his call-up given his apparent lack of match fitness. Fans were excited to hear Michael Carrick disclose that the Aussie playmaker was close to a Boro return after missing the last 12 games through injury, only to now lose their talisman and his creativity for as many as 9 games (dependant on Australia’s success in the competition).
The projected absence for Silvera and McGree could encompass Six Championship games (Coventry, Millwall, Rotherham, Birmingham, Sunderland and Bristol City) as well as the two cup games against Chelsea and the FA Cup encounter with Aston Villa.
The squad will assemble in Abu Dhabi on January 1st for a tournament pre-camp.