Muscat out of the running as Socceroos begin hunt for Arnold’s replacement

The search for Graham Arnold’s replacement is already underway, Football Australia says, but the presumed number one candidate to become the next Socceroos coach, Kevin Muscat, is already out of the race.

Arnold tendered his resignation earlier this week, attributing it to a “gut decision” and bringing to an end his decades-long association with the national team. But football moves quickly, and barely two hours after FA made the public announcement on Friday that he was gone, chief executive James Johnson confirmed the search for a new coach had already begun.

There are only 20 days until the Socceroos’ next World Cup qualifier, against China at Adelaide Oval on October 10, followed by a trip to face Group C leaders Japan five days later, but Johnson said FA’s intention was to install a new permanent coach within days instead of finding an interim solution, as they have done with Tom Sermanni and the Matildas.

Muscat, who is on the brink of winning the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Port FC in his first season there, would have been FA’s top target as the best-performing Australian coach in club football outside of his former mentor, Ange Postecoglou, who has previously ruled out ever returning to the Socceroos.

However, sources familiar with Muscat’s plans, who were not authorised to speak publicly, have confirmed to this masthead that he will not consider the role, having recently extended his contract with the club.

Like Postecoglou, Muscat is believed to harbour ambitions of coaching in Europe, and a move into international football would force him down a different path. His team sits top of the CSL with five games to play, and if they win it, Muscat will have claimed a second club title in Asia, having steered Yokohama F. Marinos to the 2022 J.League crown, and Melbourne Victory to two grand final wins in the A-League.

Kevin Muscat’s first season at Shanghai Port is breaking all sorts of records.Credit: Getty

Johnson was asked directly on Friday if Muscat was available but declined to speak about specific names.

“We are in the market, that’s what I will say,” he said. “We know the market, and we know who’s in the market and who’s available and who isn’t available. That’s what good planning does, and that’s what good organisations with good football IP do, so I believe we’re in a position that when we need to move quick, we can, and I think we will.”

Arnold had been under immense pressure since Australia’s 1-0 defeat to Bahrain on the Gold Coast and the 0-0 draw in Indonesia earlier this month, which has put the team’s chances of direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup in peril.

Australia are fifth in Group C in the third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and meet bottom-placed China and top-placed Japan next month. Only the top two teams in the group will qualify directly, while the teams in third and fourth still have a chance of making it via the fifth round of qualifiers and beyond.

Socceroos coaching contenders

Herve Renard. A bit of a nomad, but the emotive Frenchman has outperformed expectations at almost every turn. After qualifying Morocco for the 2018 World Cup, he qualified Saudi Arabia for the 2022 tournament (which means he is familiar with Australia’s players) and in Qatar oversaw a famous group-stage win over eventual champions Argentina. Last year, he coached France at the Women’s World Cup. as they fell to that penalty shootout loss to the Matildas. Known for high-tempo pressing and lifting players to new heights.

Nick Montgomery. The most successful Central Coast Mariners coach since, well, Graham Arnold, and wildcard option that could reap massive rewards. Now a member of Postecoglou’s coaching staff at Tottenham, Montgomery is only 42 but has already proven his capacity to develop youth while also overseeing experienced players.

Tony Popovic. It feels apt that this year marks the 10-year anniversary of Popa’s Western Sydney Wanderers winning the 2014 Asian Champions League. Untested as a manager at international level, and known for demanding complete control over programs and backroom staff, which would require some compromise from Football Australia.

John Aloisi. Was one of the names doing the rounds during the 2022 World Cup, when it was not yet clear if FA would offer Arnold a contract extension - or if he would even accept one. The Socceroos great has ebbed and flowed in terms of success as a manager but overhauled the culture after being appointed at Western United in 2021, taking the club from 10th place the previous season to A-League Men champions the next. 

The loss to Bahrain was only the second time since 1981 that the Socceroos have suffered defeat in a World Cup qualifier on home soil, and in that match and the one played in Jakarta, Arnold’s side struggled to create meaningful chances in the face of defensively minded opposition – a recurring problem during his reign.

He said after the draw with Indonesia that he had to go away and “think about things”, but few expected him to quit of his own accord.

Johnson also declined to address the ongoing criticism of Arnold’s tactics but said it was clear the coach “ran out of gas” and had given all he could to the Socceroos.

“I’ve got to be honest ... I have struggled a little bit since the Asian Cup loss,” Arnold said in a video news release from FA, referring to Australia’s quarter-final defeat to South Korea at the tournament.

Graham Arnold deals with more dejection against Indonesia from the dugout in Jakarta.Credit: Getty Images

“I truly went to that Asian Cup thinking that we were going to win it. Probably over the last six months I’ve tried to convince myself to keep going, to keep going, to keep going and as I said, in my gut, it just hasn’t felt right.

“I do believe that I’ve got the maximum out of this group of players. When I say that, someone else can come in and get more – but at this moment I feel that I’ve done everything I possibly can. And for me, it’s not about Graham Arnold. This is about the nation of Australia. This is about what’s good for the players, what’s good for the organisation and good for the nation.”

Arnold will go down as one of the most successful coaches in Australian history, having guided the Socceroos to their best-ever World Cup campaign at Qatar 2022, beating Tunisia and Denmark and testing eventual champions Argentina in the round of 16.

However, the remainder of his tenure has been a struggle, having failed twice to steer the Socceroos into the final four of the Asian Cup. The qualification process for Qatar almost saw him lose his job, with Australia only getting there after Arnold’s bold gambit to send in the unheralded Andrew Redmayne as goalkeeper for their penalty shootout against Peru.

Johnson said FA was open to appointing either a local or foreigner as coach, so long as they understood the Australian mentality and was familiar with the current group of players.

“That’s important for us, because the coach will be coming in before the next window,” he said.

“We want a coach that we have confidence in, that can guide us through a complicated Asian qualifying process. That sort of knowledge and experience will be important in our selection matrix for the permanent Socceroos coach.”

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