Graham Arnold recently announced the Socceroos squad that will take on Kuwait in an upcoming friendly, his first game since returning to the Socceroos head coach role.
The squad is filled with fan favourites, skilled veterans and a few new faces too. Here are five stand-out points from the squad.
1. No Mile Jedinak
Mile Jedinak, longtime Soceroos captain, announced his retirement from the national team earlier this week after being a part of the Australian set-up for the past ten years and after serving as captain in both the 2014 and the 2018 world cups.
Jedinak’s departure will leave a massive hole in the squad both on and off the pitch, and Arnold will need to appoint a new captain sooner rather than later for the side to defend their Asian Cup title in January.
Mark Milligan seems like the obvious choice, having been in the squad for a long time. His experience would be invaluable to the young players around him.
Trent Sainsbury is another name that comes to mind – he captained the side in a few international friendlies prior to the World Cup and is an experienced defender who has matured immensely in terms of his leadership abilities over the last couple of years.
(Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
2. No more Timmy time
Another big departure from the Socceroos is Tim Cahill, who has been a big part of the side ever since he made his international debut in 2004. He retires from international football as Australia’s top scorer, and he will definitely be missed by fans and players alike.
The Socceroos always looked to Timmy for goals, and even at the age of 38 he put two goals past Syria to help Australia qualify for the 2018 World Cup. The question Arnold now has to ask himself is: Where does he look for goals now? To say Australia struggled for goals during the World Cup would be an understatement. The fact that they scored only two goals in the entire tournament, both of which came from the penalty spot, is obviously worrying.
Fortunately Arnie has a plethora of attacking talent at his disposal. There are the natural strikers like Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout and Tomi Juric, not to mention quick wingers like Mathew Leckie and breakout star Daniel Arzani. Maclaren, who boasts an impressive record of eight goals in 15 games, must surely be on Arnie’s radar, as he will need a natural goalscorer in this new era.
(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
3. Martin Boyle
A surprise inclusion in this squad is Hibernian winger Martin Boyle, who is a fellow teammate of Maclaren and Milligan and is looking to represent Australia through his father, who was born in Australia. He has spent his entire career playing in Scotland and is naturally a right-sided winger who can also play up front.
Boyle has notched two goals and two assists in the league for Hibernian this season while racking up five goals and three assists in 34 league games last season. It’s yet to be known what role he will play under Arnie, if any, as the FFA is working on his eligibility to play for the Socceroos.
4. Will Massimo Luongo finally get his chance?
With Jedinak announcing his retirement and Milligan playing more as a defender these days, it surely must be time to give Luongo a chance in this new era. Mass currently plies his trade with QPR in England’s second tier and recently made his 100th appearance for the club.
Luongo is an excellent passer on the ball and is very composed. He was in both the 2014 and the 2018 World Cup squads, but he didn’t make an appearance in either. As Arnie looks to make this team his own, he must surely look to Luongo.
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
5. Will Arzani fly or flop?
What a 12 months it’s been for Daniel Arzani. From making his debut for Melbourne City to being selected in the Socceroos World Cup squad and securing a big move to Celtic, it would be fair to say that the young winger has got a lot of pressure on him.
Some have dubbed Arzani the next Harry Kewell, and while that nickname gets thrown around a lot, he is definitely an exciting young player who can play a huge part in the upcoming Asian Cup.
Arzani boasts pace and impressive dribbling, something we got a glimpse of in the international friendlies prior to the World Cup. The kid has loads of potential, but we shouldn’t expect too much from him too soon – we should just wait and see how he develops under Arnold.
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