The next World Cup cycle has begun in earnest for Graham Arnold, who will use two freshly announced home friendlies this month to inform his approach to the 2026 qualifiers and next January’s Asian Cup.
The Socceroos will host Ecuador at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium on 24 March and Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on 28 March, in two homecoming games designed to celebrate the team’s remarkable progression to the knockout stages of Qatar 2022.
Australia defied a lack of expectation at home and abroad in November, making it out of their group at the expense of Denmark before almost pushing eventual champions Argentina to extra-time in the round of 16.
At the time the players had no chance to reflect on their achievement, with most on a plane out of Doha bound for their various the next morning. For that reason, Arnold will select an almost identical squad to the one he oversaw at the World Cup, apart from the injured Martin Boyle, Ajdin Hrustic and Mathew Leckie.
“We’ve got a long list of players that we’re already monitoring and scouting for the next campaign,” Arnold said. “But for these two games I’m looking to bring back the boys that went to the World Cup. These two games are an opportunity for the boys just to actually feel the worth of what they did for the nation.”
That said, the reality is that these friendlies against the 46th-ranked Ecuador also double as the first audition for Arnold, whose recently extended tenure gets serious again this November when Asian qualifiers start for the 2026 finals in Canada, the United States and Mexico – the first to feature 48 teams.
“Day one, when the boys come into camp, they will be told they’re getting the first chance to get on that clean sheet of paper of selection moving forward,” Arnold said. “Over the next three and a half years it’s about achieving something more special.
“I said right at the start of my campaign in 2018 – and I got laughed at – that we will be the greatest Socceroos team in history. That’s going to be the main goal again. It’s about achieving more than what we did in Qatar and starting again.”
That means chances for A-League players, in particular 17-year-old Nestory Irankunda, who has been a standout for Adelaide United.
“Irankunda is doing fantastic,” Arnold said. “Obviously he’s got that quality, everyone’s talking about him at the moment. The kid just needs to keep performing and doing well, and thankfully he’s eligible for all those junior national teams that have a very busy program this year.”
It also means continuing his search for players with dual nationality, having already persuaded Harry Souttar, Boyle and Jason Cummings to switch allegiances from Scotland to Australia to great on-field success.
Cristian Volpato was the name talked about before the World Cup because the 19-year-old Roma attacker was offered the chance to join the Socceroos in Qatar but opted against it as he contemplated his chances with the Italy national team.
Others include Manchester City midfielder Alex Robertson and Huddersfield goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic – both born in Sydney – and Parma defender Alessandro Circati, who was born in Italy but grew up in Perth.
“I’ve had a conversation with a couple of those,” Arnold said. “The young kids have still got their careers [and] are thinking different ways at the moment, but, I think we will eventually get them across the line. It’s about me communicating with those kids and making sure that they are making those decisions for the right reasons.”
