Arnold quits as Australia’s coach after losing in World Cup qualifying

This was the “best for the nation” choice made by Graham Arnold, who quit as Australia’s coach after a bad start to Asia’s third phase of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Arnold stepped down at the end of his second six-year term as manager, which came after a shocking 1-0 loss at home to Bahrain and a 0-0 draw away to Asian soccer minnows Indonesia.

Even though they got off to a rough start in qualifying, the choice came as a surprise because just a week before, Football Australia CEO James Johnson had backed the 61-year-old as the best person to get the team back on track.

“I said after our game against Indonesia that I had some decisions to make, and after deep reflection, my gut has told me it’s time for change,” Arnold said in an FA statement.

“I’ve decided to step down because it’s best for the country, the players, and Football Australia.”

“I’ve given absolutely everything I can to the role, and I am immensely proud of what has been achieved during my tenure.”

Arnold told FA earlier in the week of his choice, and it was accepted by the board, Johnson said. He also said that the governing body was trying to find a permanent replacement before October’s World Cup qualifier at home against China.

“Our plan is not to hire an interim coach,” Johnson told a news gathering in Sydney. “We have a game in less than three weeks.”

“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.”

Johnson said he thought Arnold had “run out of gas” and that whoever replaces him would need to know how to lead the Socceroos through the difficult Asian qualification process.

Arnold’s exit marks the end of an era for a team that did well at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar even though it didn’t have any world-class players.

With toughness and resolve, the Socceroos made it to the round of 16 and won two games, which was a first for the tournament. This made the players heroes and Arnold a well-known name in Australia.

The rough-voiced coach known only as “Arnie” said that things would get better at the North American playoffs in 2026.

But Arnold and his team’s best performance was in Qatar. They haven’t been as strong in the region since winning the Asian Cup in 2015, and they lost in the quarterfinals of the continental title in 2019 and 2023 while Arnold was in charge.

Australia has always had a strong defense, but they haven’t had many good forwards or playmakers, and Arnold wasn’t able to help them score goals or break down weaker teams.

Last few weeks, it reached a peak when they played Bahrain and Indonesia. The world-ranked 25th-ranked Socceroos were embarrassed by the lower-ranked teams and ended up fifth in their six-team group.

Australia still had a chance to make it to their sixth straight World Cup in 2026, even though they had some failures. Johnson was sure that they would get there with new leadership.

He said, “We believe in the players.” “The team has our support.” The team has our full support, and we are sure they will make it to the 2026 World Cup.