TRANSCRIPT
Graham Arnold's second stint as Socceroos coach lasted more than six years.
He was the Socceroos longest-tenured coach ever.
However, Football Australia Chief Executive James Johnson says the process of his departure was anything but lengthy.
"Graham Arnold is no longer the Subway Socceroos head coach. This week, Graham Arnold offered his resignation and we are confirming that the Football Australia board has accepted that resignation. This resignation transpired very quickly."
Arnold's resignation comes after a poor start to the final round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Australia, shockingly, lost at home to Bahrain, before only managing a nil-all draw against Indonesia in Jakarta five days later, on the 10th of September.
Arnold revealing some of his state of mind after that game in Indonesia.
"I can only do so much. I can't play the game for them (the players). And, at the end of the day, as I said, we should've beaten Bahrain, we missed chances, and today we should've won comfortably and we missed chances. So, I'm as disappointed as probably every other Australian is. First two games and, you know. But there's another eight games to go. And the goal is always to qualify direct, but you have those extra playoff spots. But for me, at this moment, I'm just frustrated and I just need to go home to Australia and have a really good think about things."
The Socceroos are in a six-team group, along with their first two opponents Bahrain and Indonesia, as well as China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Those who finish in first and second place will qualify directly for the World Cup, set to be held in the U-S, Canada and Mexico.
However, not all is lost if Australia don't make it in the top two, thanks to the number of participating teams in the upcoming World Cup increasing from 32 to 48.
There will be a fourth round and even an extra playoff for teams in the Asian qualifiers, meaning that despite their poor start, the Socceroos still have a very good chance of advancing.
But James Johnson says Graham Arnold did not have the energy needed to lead the team any further.
"Look, Graham (Arnold), he's the kind of coach that, he puts everything into the team, he puts everything into the lead-up to matches. I think he was out of gas. He's very open about that. I met with him, obviously this week, but I met with him after the Indonesia game and he was really... He was tired. I think any more than that, you need to talk to Graham, but I think he ran out of gas."
Arnold lead the Socceroos during one of their most successful World Cup campaigns in 2022, when they defied all odds qualifying from a group that featured France, Denmark and Tunisia.
Australia went on to the Round of 16 to give eventual world champions Argentina a real scare, barely losing the match two goals to one.
Former Socceroo Alex Brosque [[brosk]], who played under Arnold at A-League side Sydney F-C, says Arnold was good at bringing a team together.
"I think Arnie (Arnold) was incredible at getting the best out of his team, pulling them together, especially when the chips were down, Arnie's fantastic at that. At "backs against the wall" and "coming out swinging", and I think he did that so many times with this team and again, like I said, (they) punched well above their weight. Look at the results in the (2022) World Cup, that we pushed Argentina who ended up going on to win the World Cup and the last round of qualifying, again, we didn't concede a single goal. So while things haven't started well in this final round, I think the legacy that Arnie leaves, with everything he's done for this group of players, he'll be sorely missed."
But Arnold also had bad moments as coach of the Socceroos.
Australia disappointed in the 2019 Asian Cup, where as defending champions they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by hosts U-A-E.
It was the same earlier this year, where Arnold's team were eliminated in the same round, this time by South Korea after extra time.
Arnold saying in the wake of his resignation that this failure was probably the turning point for his tenure.
"I have struggled a little bit since the Asian Cup loss. I truly went into that Asian Cup thinking that we were going to win it. Probably over the last six months I've tried to convince myself to keep going, to keep going, to keep going and, as I said, in my gut, just hasn't felt right. And I do believe I've got the maximum out of this group of players. When I say that, someone else can come in and get more."
If nothing else, Arnold fostered a generation of players who would go on to enjoy successful careers.
Players such as Mat Ryan, Aziz Behich [[bay-itch]], Jackson Irvine and Mitch Duke have all held a firm place in the squad under the 61 year old coach.
He has also introduced young blood into the team, through the likes of Harry Souttar [[soo-tar]], Keanu Baccus, Kye Rowles, Alessandro Circati and Nestory Irankunda, that leaves much promise for the future.
Former Socceroo Craig Foster says any new coach will need to get the best out of those young players.
"This is actually a moment, post-(FIFA World Cup 2022) Qatar, to bring through a new generation. And that's what the game should've been doing, that's certainly what Graham (Arnold) has been trying to do, and so far in the first two games the signs around that haven't been as good as what he would've liked. So now you need someone who has demonstrated capability of working with young players."
Arnold's decision leaves Australia searching for a new coach, with difficult games against China and Japan looming on the horizon.
The Socceroos will host the Chinese in Adelaide on October 10 and are set to take on the "samurai blue"** five days later in Saitama.
Further losses could leave the national team in a very difficult position and endanger their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Football Australia have their work cut out for them in search of a coach who has both the skill and the knowledge to take over the team.
Johnson says they will attempt to find a suitable replacement for Graham Arnold as quickly as possible.
"Unlike the Matildas, the Socceroos are in a different part of their calendar. We have a match in less than three weeks time. So our plan is not to appoint an interim coach, our plan is to go into the market and appoint a permanent coach. A coach that we believe, shares our vision, and will get the best out of this team going into the World Cup in 2026."
