Last-minute performances throw spanner in the works for World Cup Socceroos selection

Graham Arnold and his team are about to make the calls that will lead to elation or heartbreak. ADAM PEACOCK analyses how the final weekend of club games will shape the Socceroos‘ squad.

Graham Arnold and his staff have big decisions to make. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

The Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar is a sprawling campus of sporting preparation utopia. The training pitches, the gyms, the meal rooms, the hotel rooms, they are all designed to give players the best chance of success, wherever they chase it.

But right now, in one of those rooms, there is more stress than Wall St in a bear run, more anxiety than a bad flyer in turbulence. Names will be written down. Robust discussion had. Names scribbled out. And so forth.

Graham Arnold and his support staff, led by assistant coaches Rene Meulensteen, Tony Vidmar and John Crawley are in the process of making last minute calls that will make a young man’s day, or break his heart.

At 4pm on Tuesday, AEDT, Arnold will name the 26 players the Socceroos will take to Qatar next week for the World Cup.

There are some desperately tight calls to make. This World Cup will be won by a squad. No lead-in time, given the mid-European season schedule, a day shorter between group games plus five substitutes in each game has twisted the way a squad would normally be picked.

In 2018, Bert van Marwijk used just 15 of 23 players, and only made one change to the starting line up across the three group games. Won’t be the same this time, which makes every single one of the 26 selections vital.

So who surged further into contention? Who stalled?

Arnold must settle on his squad by Tuesday. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

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Jason Cummings and Garang Kuol were instrumental in sending Wanderland into a spin for the Mariners on Saturday in the A-League Men’s. The two of them couldn’t have had more differing backgrounds. Cummings is a walking comedy festival from Edinburgh, Kuol a kid of Sudanese heritage born in Egyptian exile. Both play with football’s most valuable attacking commodity; creative expression.

To get them both in, Arnold will need to break some hearts that got him to Qatar.

Like Marco Tilio, but the little dynamo offered a rock-solid starting performance back in Melbourne City’s smash up up Perth, while Daniel Arzani’s late claims lost some momentum in Wellington.

Jamie Maclaren keeps scoring. Two more against Glory, seven for the season, 116 in his last 143 A-League Men’s games. Even Eurosnobs can’t deride that stat.

Garang Kuol and Jason Cummings both bolstered their cases for selection. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The striking positions are a tight call. Mitch Duke will go. Maclaren too. Adam Taggart looked like a lock, but he’s dropped out of favour in Japan, and rumour has it Perth are trying to lure him back home. Taggart is hoping via Doha.

European performances didn’t help Arnold’s quest for selection clarity. Ryan Strain sent a free kick to where the spiders live for St Mirren. Right back for the Socceroos is more open.

Fran Karacic is back playing in Italy. Handy. He hasn’t had a long run without injury. Same goes for Nathaniel Atkinson at Hearts in Scotland.

Adam Taggart’s spot in the squad is looking less certain. Picture: Gene Wang/Getty Images

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The biggest mindbender for Arnold is at centre back. Finally, Harry Souttar (Stoke) and Kye Rowles (Hearts) are back in their respective first team pictures. Rowles got a few minutes for Hearts this morning after over months off with a broken foot. Souttar might play this week, which brings a huge Australian emphasis to football’s great question of ability; can he do it on a wet and cold Tuesday night at Stoke. For the uninitiated, Mawson Base is more tropical.

Rowles and Souttar are fit, but not match fit. Big difference. Bailey Wright, all of a sudden, has played three games in a week for Sunderland. Arnold loves his leadership qualities. He talks, he organises, he cajoles. That’s important, especially when Kylian Mbappe is making plans to make you look stupid.

In midfield, Aaron Mooy had the weekend off. Good. He’s played enough for Celtic recently. Tom Rogic had the weekend off too, not needed as West Brom won ugly. Awer Mabil sat watching Cadiz all game again. Rogic and Mabil look to have reputations big enough to hold a spot.

Poor Denis Genreau, more of an emerging type, can’t get a break in France. He’s played just 87 minutes all season for Toulouse. Leaves him as a sitting duck if Arnold decides the mega-minutes Cam Devlin and Keanu Baccus are getting in Scotland count for more.

Bailey Wright has had a timely big week for Sunderland. Picture: Isaac Parkin/PA Images via Getty Images

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It was a hectic weekend all over the globe. This writer is in England at the moment, and every second talk topic is who Gareth Southgate will call up and leave out. Graham Arnold’s decisions won’t rattle a nation, but they are jangling his nerves right now.

In a good way, at least his problems are to do with a predominantly healthy bunch, notwithstanding the injuries to Ajdin Hrustic (ankle) and Martin Boyle (knee). Looks as though they will be nursed through the lead up. The squad can be changed for medical reasons up to a day before the France game on November 22.

Feels a while away for Arnold.

During the next 24 hours, he has some big calls to make. Some will be happy and full of joy.

And some are destined to be horrible.

CODE Sports will have news and analysis from Tuesday’s Socceroos team announcement from 4pm AEDT.

Originally published as Last-minute performances throw spanner in the works for World Cup Socceroos selection