Graham Arnold will lead the Socceroos at the next World Cup.
Football Australia confirmed the 59-year-old has signed a contract in North America until the end of the 2026 World Cup, marking a remarkable turnaround following calls to replace him during Australia’s qualifiers for the Qatar tournament.
After finally qualifying for the World Cup via a dramatic play-off route, the Socceroos recorded their best ever group stage result with two wins before losing to eventual champions Argentina 2-1 in the round of 16.
After the contract extension, Arnold said he remains motivated to succeed in the role.
“I love Australia and I love Australian football, and nothing in football will ever compare to the joy, pride and sense of achievement that I and the whole group feel in Qatar,” Arnold said.
The hunger to continue in this role has never been stronger and I know I have more to give to the Socceroos program and Australian football where I want to bring more smiles to our fans like I did in Qatar.
I approach the next four years with a clean sheet, underpinned by a burning ambition to provide more opportunities for our emerging and established talent, while challenging for major titles starting with next year’s Asian Cup in Qatar. »
Four more years! 📝🔒
📰 Read more: https://t.co/bATmjz5wyC#ArnieIn #Soccer pic.twitter.com/R98PKgplao
– Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) January 30, 2023
Arnold has been in the role since he replaced Bert van Marwijk after the 2018 World Cup, and previously held the role on an interim basis.
Arnold, who previously represented the national team as a player, said he hoped to help develop the game more widely in Australia over the next few years.
“In addition to the success on the field over the next four years, I want to help deliver results for football in the form of bespoke infrastructure for our game across Australia,” Arnold added.
“Football is a global game, where for a country of 26 million people, we definitely excel in terms of the funding and investment that our game receives.
For our sport not to have a national football home and for the Socceroos not to receive any high performance funding is something I would like to support Football Australia to resolve over the next four years.
As we have seen, a successful FIFA World Cup campaign unites and inspires all Australians like nothing else does, and supporting both of our national senior football teams is in the national interest.
Football Australia boss Chris Niko praised Arnold’s impact on the national team.
Nico said: “What Graham and the whole team achieved in the most challenging conditions during the last FIFA World Cup was exceptional and we are delighted to have secured his services for a further four years.”
“Football Australia is ambitious, where we expect continued progress and results from our senior and youth national teams, and through our conversations with Graham in recent weeks, we know that our thinking is towards the future of Australian football and the Socceroos. is aligned.”
