A few words of encouragement from Brazilian icon Rivaldo and an up-close look at the FIFA World Cup trophy have given Graham Arnold goosebumps all over again – but the Socceroos coach admits some sober, emotion-free calls will be need to be made as he contemplates his 26-man squad for Qatar and the dozens of new contenders for it.
Arguably the most famous piece of silverware in world sport was at Sydney’s new Allianz Stadium on Monday as it circles the globe on a tour of the 32 countries to have qualified for the World Cup later this year.
Graham Arnold and FIFA legends Rivaldo and Heather O’Reilly at Allianz Stadium on Monday, where the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup trophies were on display.Credit:Dean Sewell
Thanks to that miraculous penalty shootout win over Peru two months ago, the Socceroos are one of them – and they’ve been given a decent chance of getting out of a tough group featuring France, Denmark and Tunisia by none other than Rivaldo, who was accompanying the trophy in his capacity as a paid ‘FIFA Legend’.
The former Barcelona and AC Milan star and 2002 World Cup winner, now 50, told Arnold and his players to dream big and fear no-one in Qatar, although his polite request to journalists afterwards to not ask him about any specific Australian players might suggest it was pure courtesy to his hosts.
“It’s fantastic to have a person of that calibre, but also the personality that he’s got in world football and what he’s achieved … to hear those words was great,” Arnold said.
“It’s giving me goosebumps just seeing [the trophy], and it just gives you so much inspiration when you look at it and think that there’s only 32 countries in the world that’s got a chance of winning it – and we’re one of those countries. We’ll go there, and we’ll give it our best shot and make sure that we’re ready.”
Still, Arnold does have reason to be genuinely optimistic about what the Socceroos can do at the World Cup in light of the strong start that many Australian players have made to the new season across Europe.
Skipper Mat Ryan has found a new club, Copenhagen, who will play in the UEFA Champions League this season and have drawn Manchester City, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund in their group. Former A-League midfielders Cameron Devlin (Hearts) and Keanu Baccus (St Mirren) are winning rave reviews for their performances in Scotland.
Over the weekend, Riley McGree found the back of the net for Middlesbrough, striker Alou Kuol made his first appearance in a match day squad for Stuttgart in Germany’s Bundesliga, while defender Kye Rowles – one of the standouts performers against Peru – scored for Heart of Midlothian, albeit just seconds before sustaining a foot injury, the severity of which will be revealed in the coming days.
Rivaldo with arguably the most famous trophy in world sport.Credit:Dean Sewell
“It’s fantastic,” Arnold said. “If I sit down today and look at where these kids were at 12 months ago, we’ve got 20 players that are doing more, in football terms – playing more match minutes, playing more games over in Europe at the moment, and there’s some good kids coming through.”
Arnold plans to take a closer look at them next month when the Socceroos play two friendlies against New Zealand to mark the national team’s centenary – one in Brisbane on Septmber 22, the other in Auckland three days later. He will name an extended squad in around two weeks’ time.
“We’ll be using two teams in those two games to give the players the last opportunity to get on that sheet of paper of 26 to go across to Qatar, because no one was promised anything after the Peru game,” he said. “The most important thing is their performance, and what they’re doing in between.”
As for Tom Rogic, who is clubless and still hasn’t explained to Football Australia why he missed the World Cup play-offs, which has prompted some to speculate he might quietly retire from the game altogether, Arnold was curt.
“Next question,” he said.
“No – look, at the end of the day, Tommy’s got to get a club. He’s no different to anyone else. He’s got to get playing.
“It’s getting tougher, and harder and harder, because he’s got to be playing and in the form of his life, he’s got to be fitter than ever – this World Cup, it’s a short prep, it’s only seven days before our first game. We don’t get the two and a half, three weeks, like in the past, and then in between games there’s [only] three days – so the players have to be the fittest they’ve ever been.”
Arnold has far fewer concerns around midfielder Aaron Mooy, who replaced Rogic at Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic and has made a terrific start to life in Scotland. They will face Real Madrid next week in the UEFA Champions League – and Arnold would not be surprised if they sprung an upset based on their scintillating current form.
“I’d never underestimate Ange Postecoglou,” he said. “If there’s one coach out there who could shock and do something special, it’s him.”
Watch the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League group stage matches on Stan Sport from September 7.
