Football Australia boss James Johnson says they are not panicking after horror Socceroos

As the Socceroos’ World Cup hopes hang in the balance, Football Australia boss has shared his thoughts on coach Graham Arnold. Plus, there is set to be a Matildas coaching announcement.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold Picture: Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson says the governing body is not panicking after the Socceroos’ recent World Cup qualifiers as he revealed a Matildas interim coach will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Socceroos’ astonishing 1-0 loss to Bahrain on home soil was compounded by a lifeless draw against 133rd-ranked nation Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday morning, leaving their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in jeopardy.

Johnson didn’t shy away from their poor start and said that there is work to be done for under fire coach Graham Arnold ahead of their crucial clash with China on October 10.

But Johnson said that Arnold has their full support.

Graham Arnold and the Socceroos’ have their work cut out for them. Picture: AFP

“We are pretty disappointed with the first round, the first two games of course of a very long road to the World Cup in 2026,” Johnson said.

Look, ‘Arny’ is a very experienced coach and we are fully supportive of ‘Arny’. He has got a bit of work to do between now and when the team comes back to Australia – they’ll be in Adelaide in October.

But we’re not panicking in any way, what we need to do is get focused on what some of the issues were, what we saw in round one, and then make sure we’ve got solutions going into our match against China – which we’re very confident that the team will do well and succeed.

Johnson confirmed that Tony Gustavsson’s replacement will be formalised soon.

The Matildas parted ways with the former Matildas coach in August after his side crashed out in the group stage at the Paris Olympics.

Who will replace Tony Gustavsson as Matildas coach? Picture: Pascal GUYOT / AFP

Johnson and Victorian premier Jacinta Allan announced on Tuesday that the Matildas will take on Chinese Tapei in two friendlies in Victoria in December – one at AAMI Park on December 4 and another at GMHBA Stadium on December 7.

He feels Chinese Tapei was an ideal opponent ahead of the 2026 women’s Asia Cup.

“We want to play a schedule leading into the tournament, let’s not forget that we don’t have a coach in place at the moment. I can confirm that we will appoint an interim coach in the coming weeks, but as far as we’re concerned we want to make sure the schedule that we’ve developed between now and Q1 2026 is relevant for the teams we are likely to come up against,” Johnson said.

“Chinese Tapei are a team that often qualifies, so in this Asian Cup they have a good opportunity and they are a team based on their ranking that we think we’d get a similar opponent to in the group stage of the tournament.”

Ms Allan said the upgrades made at GMHBA Stadium, the most significant being the Joel Selwood Stand was opened in March this year, have helped make the Matildas friendly possible.

The Premier Jacinta Allen with local politicians, Football Australia chief executive James Johnson and Matilda's Alumni Selin Kuralay at Friday’s announcement. Picture: Alison Wynd

“Over many years we have been investing in Geelong and investing in the Geelong community. We have been investing in the fabulous Kardinia Park precinct, upgrading the stadium. We have also been investing in other infrastructure around Geelong and what that has realised is the opportunity to host big and important events,” Allan said.

Asked whether the Matildas would be training at their home base at La Trobe University in Bundoora more often, Allan said she had discussed the jam-packed schedule for players with Arnold recently.

“These are international superstars who have a big range of commitments and no doubt that is one of the challenges,” Allan said.

“I know talking to Graham Arnold at the Socceroos announcement a few weeks ago, that is one of the challenges is how when you’ve got teams chocka-block of international superstars, when you want them to come and represent the country, it is about making sure you can put the scheduling in place that both suits the needs of the national team and recognises their other commitments.”

Originally published as Football Australia boss James Johnson says they are not panicking after horror Socceroos