How Socceroos young gun Daniel Arzani earned his place in squad
DASHING Melbourne City winger Daniel Arzani is a step closer to becoming Australia’s FIFA World Cup fairytale story after selection in the extended squad.
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DASHING Melbourne City winger Daniel Arzani is a step closer to becoming Australia’s FIFA World Cup fairytale story after selection in the extended squad.
Bert van Marwijk isn’t one for romance, and if Arzani makes the final cut it will be because the Socceroos coach believes the teenagers can contribute for his strictly results-based Russian operation.
Speaking after his selection, Arzani said his selection would mean nothing unless he made the fianl World Cup cut.
“I’m really happy, I’m stoked. But making the 32 doesn’t really mean that much if you don’t make the 26,’’ Arzani said.
“It’s just the beginning. Hopefully I get into the 26 and from there the 23. I feel like I give myself a big chance to make the 23 if I do make the 26. I’m just focused on that right now.
“It was always going to be an uphill thing, I‘ve got to go in there and prove my worth as a young player. If I make the Turkey cut I think I can do that.
“For me it’s just the same as it was before. I wasn’t expecting to be given an upper hand, I have to go in there and prove something and that’s what I’ll try and do.
“Really happy with the way things worked out and to finally get my chance. It was bittersweet with the way we got knocked out of the finals.”
Arzani started training with Socceroos sports science chief Craig Duncan on Monday after a week off along with Western Sydney right-back Josh Risdon.
Uncapped Croatia-based right-back Fran Karacic and strike duo, Hibernian’s Jamie Maclaren and Cyprus-based striker Apostolos Giannou were the other maiden van Marwijk picks.
Van Marwijk said Iran’s interest in Arzani _ where he was born _ played no part in his selection.
“I really don’t know (the situation with Iran) exactly, but nobody told me not to nominate him because of this,’’ van Marwijk said.
“I think and I hope that when we are nominating him he will play for Australia.
“We knew him and before March he didn’t play every week, he only played a few games, 19 years, just coming, he has to learn a lot but he is a player who can make the difference and I like players who can make a difference.
“Maybe a world championships is too early for him, but I will not hesitate when I think he can mean something for us and make a difference, maybe in the last 10-15 minutes, I will not hesitate to pick him. I am happy he’s in the squad now.
On Karacic, van Marwijk said: “I don’t have a lot of choices for that position. (Socceroos assistant) Ante Milicic knows him very well.”
Arzani’s selection in the preliminary 32-man squad didn’t quite offer the shock value of Luke Wilkshire and Josh Kennedy (2006) or Bailey Wright (2014) as his stunning 2018 emergence has happened right before our eyes.
At the end of 2017 (the midway point of the A-League season), Arzani had made one 23-minute substitute appearance against Sydney FC.
His super sub role against Wellington Phoenix on January 6 changed the game, injected life into Melbourne City’s ailing season and turned Arzani’s career on its head.
Arzani started all 15 City games thereafter and was impactful in each one of them.
His selection in the final 23-man squad will depend on his training performances at the intensive pre-camp in Turkey, but his A-League finals appearances, where he did not shirk the challenge and stood tall in both games, indicates that he will relish the pressure.
Arzani’s path has been opened by the heartbreaking injury to Kaiserslautern’s Brandon Borrello who, although uncapped, was on track to be picked for this squad.
Borrello just underwent a knee reconstruction after tearing his anterior cruciate ligaments literally a week after Bert van Marwijk watched him play live.
Karacic, a dashing right-back, becomes a near certainty to make the final 23 amid Australia’s ongoing woes in that problem position.
The Croatia Under 21 international, , who has an Australian passport via his father, played 90 minutes as Lokomotiva Zagreb upset second-place Rijeka 1-0 and his ninth 90-minute outing on the bounce since returning from injury.
With Tomi Juric the only striker guaranteed a spot in the final squad, Giannou and Maclaren have been drafted in as direct competition for Tim Cahill.
Giannou has played 16 games and scored five goals since joining Cypriots AEK Larnaca in January.
Maclaren missed penalty in the weekend’s 0-0 draw with Aberdeen cost him a sixth goal since his move from Germany to Hibernian a few months ago.
SOCCEROOS’ PRELIMINARY SQUAD FOR 2018 WORLD CUP
* Will be cut to 23 ahead of opening game against France
Goalkeepers
Mat Ryan (Brighton and Hove Albion FC, England), Danny Vukovic (KRC Genk, Belgium), Brad Jones (Feyenoord, Holland), Mitch Langerak (Nagoya Grampus, Japan)
Defenders
Aziz Behich (Bursaspor, Turkey), Milos Degenek (Yokohama F. Marinos, Japan), Matthew Jurman (Suwon Bluewings, Korea), James Meredith (Millwall, England), Josh Risdon (Western Sydney), Trent Sainsbury (Grasshoppers Zurich, Switzerland), Aleksandar Susnjar (FK Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic), Bailey Wright (Bristol City, England), Alex Gersbach (Lens, France), Fran Karacic (Lokomotiva Zagreb, Croatia)
Midfielders
Josh Brillante (Sydney FC), Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa, England), Mark Milligan (Al Ahli, Saudi Arabia), Robbie Kruse (Bochum, Germany), Jackson Irvine (Hull, England), Massimo Luongo (Queens Park Rangers, England), Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield, England), Tom Rogic (Celtic, Scotland), James Troisi (Melbourne Victory).
Attackers
Tim Cahill (Millwall, England), Tomi Juric (FC Luzern, Switzerland), Mattew Leckie (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Andrew Nabbout (Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan), Nikita Rukavytsya (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Dimitri Petratos (Newcastle Jets), Jamie Maclaren (Hibernian, Scotland), Daniel Arzani (Melbourne City), Apostolos Giannou (AEK Larnaca, Cyprus).
Originally published as How Socceroos young gun Daniel Arzani earned his place in squad