Socceroos coach Graham Arnold says the 2018 World Cup champions France are “so much bigger, faster and stronger than us”, in the wake of a bruising 4-1 defeat in the teams’ opening match in Qatar.
Arnold was full of praise for the elite French side that outclassed Australia, but lamented the poor defending that cost Australia dearly, saying: “we just got punished by our mistakes.”
In his post-match press conference, Arnold said: “At the end of the day the quality of the French team… they are the previous world champions for a reason. I thought we started the game very well.
“Physically they were just so much bigger, faster and stronger than us today. Overall, the boys did everything they could and that’s all I can ask.”
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Right-back Nathaniel Atkinson struggled to handle France and PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe, who enjoyed a standout performance including a goal and assist.
But Arnold defended the Tasmanian fullback, saying: “The kid actually did decently well. He did his best against one of the best players in the world. Especially in the first half we had (Mat) Leckie and Jackson Irvine to help him, that was the plan – when Mbappe got the ball, the three of them got out there and helped.
“But how do you stop someone so quick? It’s very difficult. It’s a great lesson for the kid. He’ll move on from it.”
Arnold said the Socceroos’ early goal evidenced the team’s belief they can challenge the best.
“We started the game well, physically they were bigger and stronger. That’s what we want to be. That’s what we trained on, the way we scored that goal – but overall the boys gave everything and that’s all you can ask.
“We’ve built the belief and the energy and the focus. For the last week since we’ve been in camp, we’ve been working hard in building that belief. The way we started I think they believed, and that we just got punished by our mistakes. The deliveries of their crosses was right on target.”
Now, he says, the team needs to move on quickly and focus on the future, and a looming clash with Tunisia.
“I’ll go back into the dressing room and then when we get back to the hotel, that’s that game gone. It’s good that the other result (Tunisia-Denmark) was a draw. Now it’s about winning on Saturday, so we’ve got to get ready for it.”
Luckily, the Socceroos appeared to get through the game without serious injury worries.
Arnold said: “Dukey (Mitchell Duke) got a bit of a knock on his hip in the first half. He did exceptionally well while he was out there. But everyone’s fine. It’s all about recovery and getting ready for the next game.”
Asked if he will make changes to his starting side for the (almost must-win) Tunisia clash, Armnold replied: “We can do – that’s why we’ve got 26 players. I just felt tonight especially we needed Harry Souttar for the size of (France striker Olivier) Giroud and these players with the way they delivered crosses, we needed him in the middle for this game.
“But we’ve got the option of changing players and making sure we get some fresh ones out there.”
