Football Australia have announced that Graham Arnold will remain in charge of the Socceroos through June, as the team faces two huge games to reach the World Cup.
Despite plenty of speculation that Arnold would be let go due to stagnant results over the past few months, FA confirmed today that the former Sydney FC and Mariners boss would remain in the job through those crunch games that will decide the team’s fate.
Australia will face the UAE in a sudden-death play-off game on June 7, and if victorious, will face Peru a week later for a spot in the World Cup.
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“The board of Football Australia believed it was important that we provided a stable environment and to get on with planning for the play-off phase given the very short turn-around,” FA chair Chris Nikou said.
“By confirming that Graham will remain head coach of the Socceroos until the completion of our FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 campaign, it enables Graham, his support staff and the playing group to move forward with certainty, and without delay, to ensure the best possible preparation for the next phase of qualification.”
Fans and pundits alike grew more and more frustrated with the team as the qualification cycle continued – Australia began the third phase of Asian qualifying, where the top two teams in their group of six would advance directly to the World Cup, winning three on the bounce.
But they couldn’t keep that good form up, and won just once in their final seven games, with the play-off path confirmed last week in a 2-0 loss to Japan.
They followed that up with a defeat to Saudi Arabia in a dead rubber yesterday.
“Graham has Football Australia’s support and after nearly four years in the role, still has the opportunity to finish the job he was appointed to in 2018 and see through his commitment to the national team,” FA CEO James Johnson said.
“We now turn our sights to the difficult play-off stage in June, our final opportunity to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
“As we have done throughout the campaign, we will work closely with Graham to ensure the team has the necessary resources, support and the approach required to achieve the best possible outcome and ultimately qualification to our fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup.”
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