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Graham Arnold’s bombshell decision to omit in-form Nagoya Grampus goalkeeper Mitch Langerak from his 26-man Socceroos squad is a firm reminder that it’s Arnie who controls the narrative.
The Socceroos coach has never liked media campaigns.
He has a group of players he trusts – one of whom is Central Coast Mariners veteran Danny Vukovic – and that preference for using players he’s always worked with has seen the J. League’s outstanding goalkeeper of the past two seasons miss the flight to Doha.
Mitch Langerak . (Photo by Hiroki Watanabe/Getty Images)
It’s staggering to think Langerak isn’t heading to Qatar. He kept 14 clean sheets in 33 league games this season and was Nagoya’s official player of the season.
But having initially announced his Socceroos retirement when it was all-but-impossible to return to Japan after international duty, Langerak has seemingly paid the price by being left out of Arnold’s World Cup squad altogether.
Quite why Langerak was summonsed for the recent two-game series against New Zealand – where he didn’t see a single minute of action – remains a mystery.
But it’s hard not to feel the popular North Queenslander has been snubbed – even if it’s clear goalkeeping coach John Crawley has long-standing relationships with Mat Ryan, Vukovic and Andrew Redmayne.
The Socceroos will now be sweating on the fitness of long-time first choice Ryan, who has lost his place in the FC Copenhagen starting XI to mouthy Polish shot-stopper Kamil Grabara.
Langerak’s shock omission is the headline news from Australia’s 26-man squad, but there’ll also be some who were disappointed not to see Roma midfielder Cristian Volpato’s name on the list.
The 18-year-old has been gradually working his way into Roma’s first-team line-up, but having opted to represent Italy at youth level, persuading Volpato to switch international allegiances always seemed like a long shot.
Jason Cummings’ decision to do exactly that has paid off in the end, with the Scottish-born Central Coast Mariners striker earning a call-up to the world’s biggest sporting event.
His pace and directness are attributes the Socceroos could certainly use, so the question now is whether Cummings will actually see any game time in the Gulf.
Given how much Arnie clearly dislikes the thought of players being selected based on public opinion, it was somewhat of a surprise to Cummings’ name on the list.
No surprise is the fact that teenage tyro Garang Kuol has also been named in the squad.
Like Cummings, Kuol will only do some damage if he manages to get off the bench in the Gulf.
But despite never having played a full game of football in the A-League Men, Kuol is clearly the sort of X-factor who can spark panic in tiring opposition defences.
The inclusion of Cummings and Kuol means there was no room for Adam Taggart, who endured a difficult campaign for his J. League side Cerezo Osaka.
Taggart has 17 caps for Australia, but despite looking a likely understudy to Mitch Duke, the former A-League star found a stop-start domestic campaign in which he scored just five J. League goals counted against him when it mattered most.
Garang Kuol of the Socceroos. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The Socceroos will be sweating on the fitness of key defenders Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles, with the pair named despite only recently returning from serious injuries.
After suffering that crippling ACL injury on duty for the Socceroos in a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia in Parramatta back in November 2021, it was always a race against the clock for Souttar to return in time.
But having only recently returned to limited action for his club side Stoke City, the Socceroos are clearly gambling on the towering centre back’s full fitness.
Tom Rogic has hardly got a look-in at West Brom and missed the cut after his curious withdrawal from the playoff games against the United Arab Emirates and Peru, but it’s the omission of Langerak that has stunned the Australian football world.
Back-to-back seasons as the best goalkeeper in Japan have counted for little for a coaching staff who clearly prefer to work with their own favourites.