Four from four but job only half done
TOM SMITHIES
THE numbers so far are dominating, but Socceroos boss Graham Arnold won’t contemplate any slackening of the pace.
Four wins from four on the road to the World Cup means Australia are well set to qualify for the final round of qualifying for Qatar 2022, with 16 goals scored and just one conceded.
Depending on other results, two more wins in March – at home to Kuwait and away to Nepal – could seal the deal, with the top two teams in their group going through to the final round of qualifying.
If the opposition in their first three games was relatively lightweight, the 1-0 defeat of Jordan early yesterday was the first time in four attempts that Australia had beaten the Jordanian side away from home.
The win continued his side’s perfect record, but Arnold has no interest in discussing the permutations of what number of points might be sufficient.
Instead the pressure for places should apply a blowtorch to any complacency, with players including Mathew Leckie and Jamie Maclaren due to return to the squad by March.
“We’re going for 24 (points), I expect the boys to build a winning mentality,” Arnold said. “It’s what we talked a lot about, and we want to go through this whole phase undefeated, ideally getting eight wins and 24 points and a great goal difference.
“It’s about improving every time we catch up, and every time we get into camp. You can see our attacking play is getting better and better, and the mentality of the boys to work is fantastic.
“We lost Leckie, we lost Maclaren, but it’s not just about the starting XI. It’s about competition for places because the players on the pitch know they can’t slacken off. If they do, they know there’s someone coming for them.
“Our structure was good, our work rate was fantastic. Jordan isn’t an easy place to come, they can play and it shows in the history that the Socceroos have never won there. We’re the first.”
A major fillip for Arnold was the return of winger Martin Boyle, injured on the eve of the Asian Cup in December and absent since.
A brief cameo off the bench gave Boyle time to show his creativity, of the sort Arnold believes can be a key weapon for his side.
“It shows my hard work’s paid off,” Boyle said of his return. “I’ve had a lengthy spell on the sidelines that was disappointing. But I’ve been keeping my head down and working hard so that moments like this can happen.”