Socceroos to learn Copa America opponents
It's a choice to make any footballer salivate, with either Lionel Messi or Neymar lying in wait for the Socceroos in just over six months.
The answer will come this week with Australia to find which group they will be in at the Copa America, one of the world's most prestigious tournaments, with the draw to be held early on Wednesday.
It comes amid a blizzard of fixtures for Australia next year, with Graham Arnold's side likely to play at least 14 games and possibly more – and the Socceroos boss has already laid out a series of records for his squad to target.
Wednesday's draw will put Australia and Qatar, the two invited nations, into the two groups for the Copa America – either in the North Zone with Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela or the South Zone alongside Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and group hosts Argentina.
It means at least five games for Arnold's side, coming hot on the heels of the final two fixtures in the first phase of World Cup qualifying, also in June. Arnold said the run of games would test the depth of talent he has tried to create over the past 16 months. “Logistically it will be hard but the past few months have been all about creating depth for precisely this scenario,” Arnold said.
“We'll have the two World Cup qualifiers in June, and then seven or eight days to travel to South America and be ready for our first game.
“Last year Japan (as one of the invited nations) took their Olympic team to the Copa America, and we could look at it as a transitional tournament too, the opportunity to give quite a few players tournament experience against good teams and in big atmospheres.”