Football Australia will scramble to find a new coach before the next round of World Cup qualifiers in under three weeks after Graham Arnold stepped down as Socceroos head coach with immediate effect on Friday.
Arnold has been in dialogue with Football Australia this week, ironing out an exit strategy from a role he has held since 2018, and has now resigned before Australia’s next game against China in October.
FA confirmed the news on Friday and Arnold later said it was “time for change”.
The 61-year-old’s departure comes after the Socceroos picked up just one point from a possible six in their opening two games of third round World Cup qualifying. Australia fell to Bahrain earlier this month and then were held scoreless in a 0-0 draw with Indonesia.
“I said after the Indonesia game that I had some big decisions to make,” Arnold said. “I followed my gut and have gone with the decision of, after 40 years service and six years at the helm of coaching the Socceroos, that it’s time for change and time for me to move on.
“I’ve got to be honest, and I always am, I have struggled a little bit since the Asian Cup loss. I truly went to that Asian Cup thinking that we were going to win it.
“I do believe that I’ve got the maximum out of this group of players. When I say that, someone else can come in and get more. Myself, and the staff, have done everything we possibly can.”
The Socceroos host China in Adelaide on 10 October before facing undefeated Japan in Saitama on 15 October. Even with little time to name a squad and prepare for that fixture window, FA intends to appoint a permanent coach before the team faces China.
“Our plan is not to appoint an interim coach,” said James Johnson, Football Australia CEO. “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.
“We want a coach that is obviously tactically astute. We want a coach that understands the Australian mentality, that understands our players.”
In his six-year reign as the Socceroos longest-serving coach, Arnold led Australia to their best-ever finish at a World Cup and two quarter-final exits at the Asian Cup.
Arnold went precariously close to getting the sack in 2022 when Australia blew their hopes of direct World Cup qualification and had to rely on Andrew Redmayne’s penalty shootout heroics against Peru to reach the showpiece event in Qatar. Once there, Australia knocked over Denmark and Tunisia before narrowly falling to eventual champions Argentina at the last 16 phase.
Following Australia’s performance in Qatar, Arnold was rewarded with a new four-year deal by FA and turned down approaches to coach at club level to guide the Socceroos to the 2026 tournament, which will take place in USA, Canada and Mexico.
Arnold said in June of this year that he believed he had a squad capable of reaching the semi-finals in North America in two years’ time. But the former Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners boss has opted to walk away from the final two years of that deal after an underwhelming start to the third round of qualification.
The Socceroos suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast before a frustrating stalemate against Indonesia. Those two results in which the Socceroos failed to score, have left Australia second bottom in group C and their hopes of securing a top-two finish and automatic qualification on shaky ground.
Arnold was visibly frustrated after the Indonesia draw and vowed to go away and have “a really good think about things”. While many interpreted that throwaway line to suggest he would revamp his squad and tactics – Arnold’s critics have frequently bemoaned Australia’s lack of cutting edge against perceived “smaller” teams – the Socceroos manager was instead considering his position.
Arnold’s exit leaves FA facing a mad scramble to find a coach to step into the role on an interim basis as they also continue a search for the next permanent Matildas coach.
