3 hours ago
Graham Arnold is group to measurement down arsenic Socceroos head earlier Australia's adjacent World Cup qualifier successful October.
Sources acquainted pinch negotiations person revealed that Arnold has been successful speech pinch Football Australia this week, ironing retired an exit strategy from a domiciled he has held since 2018.
Arnold's departure comes aft nan Socceroos picked up conscionable 1 constituent from a imaginable six successful their opening 2 games of third-round World Cup qualifying against opponents they should person easy accounted for.
Australia fell to Bahrain earlier this period and past were held scoreless successful a 0-0 tie pinch Indonesia.
FA declined to remark erstwhile contacted.
In his six-year reign, nan 61-year-old has overseen Australia's best-ever decorativeness astatine a World Cup and 2 quarter-final exits astatine nan Asian Cup.
Arnold went precariously adjacent to getting nan sack successful 2022 erstwhile Australia blew their hopes of nonstop World Cup qualification and had to trust connected Andrew Redmayne's punishment shootout heroics against Peru to get to Qatar.
Once there, Australia knocked complete Denmark and Tunisia earlier narrowly falling to eventual winners Argentina astatine nan past 16 phase.
Arnold (pictured centre during Australia's scoreless World Cup qualifying tie pinch Indonesia this month) is connected his measurement retired of nan apical occupation he's held since 2018
The 61-year-old steered nan Socceroos to their champion ever decorativeness to a World Cup arsenic they narrowly mislaid to Argentina successful nan information of 16 successful Qatar
Following Australia's capacity successful Qatar, Arnold was rewarded pinch a caller four-year woody by FA and turned down approaches to coach astatine nine level to guideline nan Socceroos to nan 2026 tournament, which will return spot successful USA, Canada and Mexico.
Arnold said successful June of this twelvemonth that he believed he had a squad tin of reaching nan semi-finals successful North America successful 2 years' time.
But nan erstwhile Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners leader has opted to locomotion distant from nan last 2 years of that woody aft an underwhelming commencement to nan 3rd information of qualification.
The Socceroos suffered a daze 1-0 nonaccomplishment to Bahrain connected nan Gold Coast earlier a frustrating stalemate against Indonesia.
Those 2 results successful which nan Socceroos grounded to score, person near Australia 2nd bottommost successful group C and their hopes of securing a top-two decorativeness and automatic qualification connected shaky ground.
The Socceroos big China successful Adelaide connected 10 October earlier heading to look undefeated Japan successful Saitama connected 15 October.
'Arnie' is stepping distant pinch 2 years near connected his statement aft turning down nine coaching opportunities to enactment pinch nan Socceroos
Arnold was visibly disappointment aft nan Indonesia tie and vowed to spell distant and person 'a really bully deliberation astir things.'
While galore interpreted that throwaway statement to propose he would revamp his squad and strategies - Arnold's critics person often bemoaned Australia's deficiency of cutting separator against perceived 'smaller' teams - nan Socceroos head has alternatively been considering his position.
Arnold met FA bosses earlier this week and it is believed that he indicated he would beryllium consenting to measurement speech aft a challenging six-year reign.
His apt exit leaves FA facing a huffy scramble to find a coach to measurement into nan domiciled connected an interim ground arsenic they proceed a hunt for nan adjacent imperishable Matildas coach.
The Socceroos will request to denote a squad for nan October model fixtures pinch China and Japan successful a small complete a fortnight.
