World Cup qualifiers: Socceroos coach Graham Arnold details plans for 2020 friendlies
The Socceroos haven’t played a fixture since last November – and following an AFC decision to push back their World Cup qualifiers, coach Graham Arnold has to take matters into his own hands.
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Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has revealed the extreme lengths he is willing to go to in order to defy the COVID shutdown and keep Australia’s World Cup campaign on track.
The decision by the Asian Football Confederation to push the World Cup qualifiers scheduled for October and November back to 2021, has put a major spanner in the works in terms of planning an assault on qualification for Qatar 2022.
Arnold, however, acknowledged the safety-first reasoning – and has immediately put his Plan B into action.
Arnold is in discussions with Football Federation Australia about scheduling a training camp and friendlies in Europe – possibly in England – where borders remain open and international fixtures are will be played during the October and November windows.
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With the bulk of Arnold’s Socceroos squad currently playing in Europe, including the likes of Brighton duo Aaron Mooy and Mat Ryan, and Hertha BSC’s Mathew Leckie, Arnold wants to exploit a loophole that will allow him to give his troops a World Cup refresher.
“Plan A, I’ve ripped up that bit of paper and now I’ve pulled out Plan B,” Arnold told News Corp.
“It’s something that FFA will no doubt look to help support and I’ve obviously spoken to (FFA CEO) James Johnson about it.
“Those FIFA windows in October or November are still there because at this moment the Euro qualifiers are on.
“So in that FIFA window, we can hold a camp that combines of Olyroos and Socceroos, and have a camp in Europe, in England maybe, where we can get the players together and get on the front foot so when we do come back for our World Cup qualifiers, we’re ready to go.
“We’re looking at which nations are available to play. We’ve got probably close to 50 players playing in Europe. Those borders are open at the moment and things are moving around in Europe.
“Well, the staff, we can go to them. We can go and see them and make sure that we’re in communication.
“We reboot, review, reconnect and be ready for when things do open up and we are playing those games.”
Arnold is also eager to catch up with rising star Daniel Arzani and his career reboot at FC Utrecht after an injury-plagued two seasons on loan at Celtic, as well as promising Olyroo Tyrese Francois.
A mooted January international window has seemingly been put on the backburner meaning the Socceroos, who have not played since November last year, would otherwise have to wait until March before their next fixture – a prospect which concerned Arnold.
“We can’t go 18 months with me not seeing the players or not having that connection,” he said.
Arnold’s proposed training camp would take place during the A-League off-season, but is unlikely to involve those members of his squad, which includes the likes of Sydney FC’s Rhyan Grant and Melbourne City’s Jamie Maclaren.
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“The A-League players are very much a big part of our plan moving forward, but while the A-League is not being played in October and November, I plan to go to Europe and spend some valuable time with the boys over there,” Arnold said.
“I miss being on the field and I miss coaching, but at the end of the day it’s a world pandemic and it is what it is. The most important thing is that we’ll be ready when the decisions are made to come back.
“To me, nothing has been cancelled. It’s just been postponed. It’s going to be a truly fantastic, exciting, busy time in 2021 and 2022. Everything is positive moving forward.
“I’m very positive about the playing group. We’re in a great position in the World Cup qualifiers.”
Originally published as World Cup qualifiers: Socceroos coach Graham Arnold details plans for 2020 friendlies