Graham Arnold is staying on as Socceroos coach.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Arnold himself was seemingly braced for the news,with his closest allies even revealing he had been left in the dark by FA as rumours – fuelled by federation “insiders” – swirled over his future.
It’s believed FA considered alternative options but ultimately deemed the best course of action,with only two months left until the Socceroos enter the do-or-die play-offs for a spot at the World Cup,was to stick with Arnold. Any replacement would have had only a handful of training sessions with the team and was thus no certainty to make any improvements to the team’s current form. They have won just one of their last seven games,surrendering a six-point head start given to them by group rivals Japan earlier in the campaign.
It ensures the former Sydney FC boss and multiple A-League winner will remain at the helm for Australia’s upcoming clash with the United Arab Emirates,the other third-placed finisher in Asian qualification,on June 7 in Doha.
The winner of that match will face Peru a week later,also in a single-legged match on neutral territory on Qatar,with World Cup qualification on the line.
FA chief executive James Johnson was in Jeddah for Australia’s 1-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning (AEDT) and will now travel with Arnold to Doha for the World Cup draw on Friday (9pm AEDT),with 29 of the 32 participating teams confirmed.
“The board of Football Australia believed it was important that we provided a stable environment and to get on with planning for the play-off phase given the very short turnaround,” FA chairman Chris Nikou said.
“By confirming that Graham will remain head coach of the Socceroos until the completion of our FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 campaign,it enables Graham,his support staff and the playing group to move forward with certainty,and without delay,to ensure the best possible preparation for the next phase of qualification.”