Maintaining standards and doing Australia proud is the focus for Arnold

The Asian Cup gets underway in just a week's time for the Subway Socceroos and for coach Graham Arnold, the focus is maintaining standards to achieve a shared goal.

In his press conference in Abu Dhabi ahead of the warmup match against Bahrain, Arnold said the squad has settled well.

“I've got 26 very good players here and already getting headaches on who to start and who not to start and everyone's turned up, fit and ready to go,” he said.

“It's going to be fun selecting not only the side for this one against Bahrain, but in the future for the Asian Cup.”

The side now has a strong contingent of senior players which is something that Arnold feels will give the Socceroos a boost on the pitch, and off it.

“The experience plays a crucial role for the culture of the Socceroos, but also off the field and in and around the camp with their messaging and their leadership,” he said.

“On the pitch, whether it's one, two, three or four senior players, they are crucial in what we're doing and what we've done. And it's important that we continue to grow.”

Looking forward to the Asian Cup, the outlook for the squad is to maintain Socceroos’ standards, no matter the opponent.

“Over the last couple of years, we have raised the standards of the Socceroos enormously, and it's about maintaining those standards on whoever you play against,” he said.

“Coming into a tournament where you have that motivation and drive and you can drive the message that this is a chance to win a trophy where you don't get many chances like that in international football, that's what you have to aspire to.”

Those standards corroborate the new ‘A Different Breed’ campaign which launched yesterday, January 4, 2024.

The campaign encapsulates the belief, desire, and spirit of the Subway Socceroos and it draws on the standards that Graham Arnold and this team have set over recent years.

To back that further, captain Maty Ryan said: “The identity of this team, our values and how we want to play are so important to our success and we felt ‘A Different Breed’ summed those things up perfectly.”

Saying all that though, Arnold’s current focus is getting two hands on the Asian Cup trophy.

“We're here for a reason, and that reason is to do our nation proud, and do your family proud,” Arnold said.

“(We will) go out there and give everything that we've got and let's go get two hands on that trophy.”

Every AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 match will be live on Paramount+