Soccer Australia will be scrambling to find a new coach ahead of World Cup qualifiers in less than three weeks after Graham Arnold resigned as Socceroos head coach on Friday.
Arnold held talks with Football Australia this week and ditched his exit strategy from the role he has held since 2018, now pulling out ahead of Australia’s next match against China in October. The 61-year-old leaves the Socceroos with just one point from a possible six points in their opening two World Cup third-round qualifiers.Australia fell to Bahrain earlier this month and were held to a goalless draw by Indonesia in a 0-0 draw.
“I followed my gut and went with that decision after 40 years in the service and six years coaching the Socceroos,” he said.This is a time of change for me and time to move on. I have to be honest, I have always struggled a bit since losing the Asia Cup.I really thought I was going to win this Asian Cup.I believe I got the most out of this group of players.That being said, someone else might come in and get more.Myself and my staff have done everything we can,”Arnold said.
Football Australia CEO James Johnson said that “We want a coach who is obviously tactically astute.We want a coach who understands the Australian spirit, who understands our players,Our plan is not to appoint an interim coach. Someone who we believe will share our vision and get the best out of this team going to the World Cup in 2026.”
In six years as the Socceroos’ longest-serving coach, Arnold led Australia to two quarter-final exits at the World Cup and the Asian Cup.Arnold is close to being sacked in 2022, having dashed Australia’s hopes of direct World Cup qualification and having to rely on Andrew Redmayne’s penalty-deciding heroics against Peru in Qatar.Australia then beat Denmark and Tunisia before narrowly losing to defending champions Argentina in the last 16.
Arnold has been awarded a four-year contract by the FA until 2026, and the United States have made approaches for a club-level coach to guide the Socceroos tournament in Canada and Mexico have been rejected.Arnold said in June of this year that he believes he has a team that can reach the semi-finals in North America in two years.
The two results, in which the Socceroos failed to score, left Australia second-bottom of Group C, with hopes of a top-two finish and automatic qualification in tatters.
Arnold’s exit leaves the FA struggling to find a coach to step into the role on an interim basis as the FA continues to search for another permanent Matildas coach.
