Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has stressed his side will do their very best to stay focused on the job at hand against Palestine during their World Cup qualifier on Wednesday morning (AEDT) with the backdrop of the devastating Israel-Hamas war looming large.
The Asian second-round Group I clash will be played in neutral territory in Kuwait, but much of the focus in the build-up will inescapably surround the battle that is raging in the Gaza Strip.
Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. Join now and start streaming instantly >
Arnold hopes Australia’s match against Palestine will serve as a brief, but welcome, distraction for that part of the world.
“It’s horrific what’s going on over there at the moment, but I don’t think we have any control over that,” Arnold said after his team’s 7-0 thumping of Bangladesh on Thursday night.
“What we do have control over is our performance and playing against Palestine and going out and getting the job done for Australia.
“With everything that’s going on in the Middle East at the moment, it’s been quite stressful for me and just making sure that everything is great (regarding preparation).
“Obviously we are very sympathetic for everyone with what’s going on, but again, it’s a game of football and that brings a lot of joy to everybody.”
Defender Harry Souttar echoed Arnold’s sentiments in that the players had to maintain a professional approach to the match, while the war that is impacting their opponents rages on.
“We know what’s going on from both sides is horrendous,” he said.
Two goals, two minutes! Duke on FIRE | 00:44
MORE COVERAGE
Seventh heaven! Socceroos’ brutal beatdown in first step to 2026 World Cup
FIFA boss ‘guided’ World Cup to Saudis over Aussies … three years before anyone knew: report
‘He believed in me’: Socceroos rookie’s huge praise for ex-Aussie star
“All I can say is we’ll be going into that focusing purely on the game and nothing else.
“We know that they’re going to be right up for it, we know they’re going to be playing for a lot more than just football, but we’re there to get a result and to get a job done and we’ll be professional and we’ll be going for the win.”
Aiding Australia’s bid to collect another three points is the fact that they will be taking a chartered flight from Melbourne to Kuwait on Saturday.
“FA has been fantastic and supportive and everything,” Arnold said.
“We’re getting a chartered flight which will chop off six hours of travel … instead of having to stop over in Doha or the UAE.”
Arnold hoped the new approach to their preparation for international matches on short turnarounds would give them an edge.
“The boys are just changing again what they learned and trying to improve things, just changing our model a little bit and program a little bit,” Arnold said.
“Instead of rushing tomorrow morning over to the Middle East, tomorrow the boys will have a day off here … and then the next morning we’ll be on the plane going across so it gives them two good nights’ sleep instead of one.
Souttar surges Socceroos to early lead | 00:43
“When I reflect back onto the last campaign, when we played home and then away, each time we did that, our second game was average – we dropped points.
“It was down to fatigue and so I’ve got to change something to try and fix that or try to do something different. Maybe that extra day of relaxation (will make a difference).”
Despite the massive win over Bangladesh, Arnold envisaged making more changes to his line-up, with Hibernian winger Martin Boyle a likely inclusion.
Fierce competition for spots ensured that nobody in the squad was resting on their laurels.
“I don’t want to see any sloppiness and complacency otherwise I’ll take you off or I won’t start you,” Arnold said.
“When you’ve got young ones in camp and you’re bringing young ones through, the older ones are looking over their shoulder.
“It takes away that bit of sloppiness or complacency and I truly believe in the Australian kids.”
Discussion about this post