He just delivered the greatest Socceroos win in 16 years, leading Australia to a first men’s World Cup Round of 16 appearance since Germany ‘06, but coach Graham Arnold is already focusing on the future.
“No celebrations,” he declared to SBS. “As I said to the boys, that’s why we won after a great win against Tunisia.
“No celebrations, no emotion. Sleep. No social media.”
But the emotion was on full display at full time, with midfield star Jackson Irvine in tears, and his Socceroos teammates screaming with joy.
Back-up keeper Andrew Redmayne hoisted players into the air, while injured star Martin Boyle once again celebrated in the middle of the team huddle by waving his crutches in the air.
Arnold was an assistant coach to Dutch mastermind Guus Hidink at the 2006 World Cup, but has now become the first Australian coach to claim a World Cup win – just one of a host of records the Socceroos notched so far this tournament.
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“Just so proud of the effort by the boys,” Arnold added. “Short turnaround but their effort was incredible.
“[It took] a lot of belief, a lot of hard work. These boys come in with a great mindset. We’ve been working on this for four and a half years. We have the belief, the energy and the focus.
“I could see in their eyes that they were ready tonight.”
