Copa America: Socceroos face Lionel Messi’s Argentina, Lionel Suarez’s Uruguay in first tilt at tournament
The Socceroos will take on South American football royalty in Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the Copa America next year, but that doesn’t faze coach Graham Arnold.
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Update: Even against Lionel Messi, Graham Arnold expects to win.
The Socceroos boss has declared Australia can shock Argentina and their six-time Ballon d’Or winner on their own turf after being drawn with the Copa America co-hosts on Wednesday.
And there are no fears of facing other Group A opponents Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay, against whom they’ll play five pool matches in Argentina next June in the hope of making the quarter-finals as one of the top-four teams.
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A provisional draw from governing body Conmebol has the Socceroos kicking off their campaign in Cordoba on June 13 against 15-time Copa champions Uruguay (world No.15), arch-enemies since they denied Australia a 2002 World Cup spot, before the green and gold got one back in that famous 2005 play-off in Sydney that snapped a 32-year World Cup drought.
They’ll then take on Paraguay (No.40) and Bolivia (No.76) before facing Messi’s Argentina (No.9) in Buenos Aires on June 26 and, finally, Chile (No.17) on June 30.
It’s a titanic task for the Socceroos’ first invitational appearance at the prestigious 12-team tournament that’s never been won by a guest nation.
And for a country currently ranked 42nd in the world, the assumption might be that relative continental minnows Paraguay and Bolivia are looking more straightforward for Australia than, say, a Uruguay line-up featuring Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Lucas Torreira, an Argentine outfit boasting Messi, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala and Lautaro Martinez, or a Chile team touting Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal.
No quite, according to Arnold.
“We’ve got Argentina lined up in our sights,” he said.
“Why can’t we shock the world? That’s always been my way, winning. Why can’t we go out there and shock the world and beat Argentina in their own country? That’s the expectation.
“Top four is our first goal, yes, to get through to the quarter-finals.”
In Australia’s favour is that they’ve been drawn to play in the ‘South Zone’ of Argentina during winter and will avoid the tropical temperatures and altitude of ‘North Zone’ Colombia, which hosts a Group B pool also including Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and fellow guest nation and Asian Cup-holders Qatar.
Uruguay aside, the Socceroos already have rivalries with the group’s other giants.
Arnold was a player when a Diego Maradona-led Argentina beat Australia over a two-legged play-off to reach the 1994 World Cup, 15 years before current Socceroos skipper Mark Milligan captained the Olyroos against Messi’s Argentina at the 2008 Olympics.
Messi also played in a 1-0 friendly against the Socceroos at the MCG in 2007.
Chile, meanwhile, beat the Socceroos 3-1 at the 2014 World Cup, and the two countries drew 1-1 at the 2017 Confederations Cup.
The draw, conducted in Colombia on Wednesday morning (EDT), maps out a frenetic 2020 for Graham Arnold’s national team, who will juggle the tournament with World Cup qualifiers.
The final four fixtures in the first phase of qualifying are scheduled before the Copa begins, including two home games against Chinese Taipei and Jordan just days prior.
Arnold is weighing up the benefits of taking the Olyroos, in the same way guest nation Japan did in this year’s Copa.
“I know their coach Moriyasu very well and he took their Olympic team across and used that as a transitional building period for Japanese football,” Arnold said.
“Whether I do that or not is another thing, but it’s about going to this tournament, using this great experience as a wonderful opportunity to have a life experience.
“This can change our game. It can change not only what we’re doing as the Socceroos, but what we’re doing as a group of people … the players are hungry for it.”
Copa America groups
South Zone: Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Australia
North Zone: Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Qatar