Doha: The Socceroos could be playing on home soil against some of the world’s best teams as soon as March, with Football Australia moving quickly to capitalise on the team’s impressive World Cup and newfound global respect by setting up a series of high-profile friendlies.
Chief executive James Johnson is back home after watching Australia’s best-ever World Cup unfold in Doha and is already mapping out the future, with a review of the campaign and Graham Arnold’s performance as coach under way.
It could soon lead to a formal contract offer for Arnold, who is taking a much-needed break in the UK but is yet to declare whether he wants to continue coaching the Socceroos, or seek a new challenge at club level. Close friend and ex-Socceroos teammate Robbie Slater, however, has told Fox Sports he expects the 59-year-old will stay on, and it seems safe to assume FA will want him to.
That will all be sorted in the coming weeks, but FA is working concurrently to line up Australia’s next opponents, with matches at home a priority. During the four-year cycle which has now concluded, the Socceroos were only able to play seven times in Australia due to the pandemic.
But their round-of-16 breakthrough has led to a dramatic spike in interest levels, and with qualifying for the 2026 World Cup not starting until November FA has four vacant international windows to fill with fixtures: March 20–28, June 12–20, September 4–12 and October 9–17.
Just as they have done over the last 18 months for the Matildas, they are aiming high.
Graham Arnold may soon have another reason to celebrate, with FA’s review of the World Cup likely to lead to another contract offer.Credit:Getty Images
“There will be some big nations that come to Australia and play the Socceroos in 2023,” Johnson said.
“We’ve got the networks and the and the phone books now to be able to bring big nations over here to Australia, and we’re working on it right now.
“In some of those windows, UEFA is playing, in another of those windows, you’ll find that CONMEBOL is playing, and others CONCACAF is. It’s like a Rubik’s cube. We’ll work through with the intention being to bring big opposition back to our shores to play the Socceroos in 2023 – it’s going to be a great year for football, probably the best ever.”
Australia’s World Cup review is being conducted by Johnson, FA’s chief football officer Ernie Merrick, high-performance boss Paddy Steinfort, Socceroos legend Tim Cahill — who was their ‘head of delegation’ in Qatar — and former internationals Mark Bresciano, Amy Duggan and Heather Garriock, all of whom sit on the federation’s board.
Football Australia CEO James Johnson and chief football officer Ernie Merrick will be leading the Socceroos’ World Cup review.Credit:Gregg Porteous
While Arnold has been rightfully lauded for what the Socceroos have achieved, the challenge he could face in the lead-up to 2026 is very different. At the next Asian Cup and during AFC qualifying for the next World Cup, Australia will be seen as favourites rather than the underdogs, which means the onus will be on them to make things happen in possession against defensively minded teams, instead of looking to strike on the counterattack as they did so effectively against France, Tunisia, Denmark and Argentina.
A tactically conservative manager, Arnold’s teams have usually struggled to function with the ball and break down opponents who sit back in low defensive blocks, as shown during Australia’s dismal 2019 Asian Cup failure and during their struggles to qualify for this World Cup. FA will have to assess whether Arnold can build upon the overwhelming sense of belief and unity he has created within the team and take them in a new direction on the field.
Johnson said he was thrilled with Arnold’s performance, which exceeded their expectations, and stressed that FA would not speak to any other coaching candidates until they’d spoken with him first. It has been reported that they had already held secret meetings with Western United coach John Aloisi, which FA has strongly rejected.
“We’re already in review mode. Since the Smith-Gander report, which was done independently of our national teams three years ago, one of the changes we’ve gone through is after every window and every major tournament, there is a very thorough review done, the objective being to develop and improve,” Johnson said.
“That process for this campaign is under way, and once that’s completed, we’ll set out our strategy for the next four-year cycle – the end point being the 2026 men’s World Cup.”
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