If Graham Arnold was reaching for the panadol to deal with selection headaches back in September, he might need something a little bit stronger at this point. With Australia’s opening game of the World Cup against France just over two weeks away, deliberation time has run out for the Socceroos boss. There is no more football left to be played and no more opportunities to make cases for selection; 1,153 days after the Socceroos began their journey to Qatar, Arnold will on Tuesday name the 26 players he will take to the biggest sporting event on the planet.
But unfortunately for Arnold, while the majority of his squad appears largely settled – the names of “15 or 16 players” were effectively decided on two months ago and several others have bolstered their cases since – the picture surrounding the final slots became no clearer across the weekend, particularly for those plying their trade in the Australian top flight.
