Graham Arnold and Harry Souttar were on Matchday -1 media duties ahead of Australia’s second and final game against Ecuador, which takes place in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
The press conference took place at Federation Square, which was the site of incredible scenes from the Socceroos’ fans in Melbourne throughout the FIFA World Cup campaign.
Watch below or read on for a summary of the key pre-match talking points!
Arnold on how the squad has pulled up from Friday night:
Everyone’s pulled up, except Harry (Souttar) who copped a knock late in the game. The medical staff reviewed him to see how he was and said that he wouldn’t be properly available for Tuesday night. The swelling would have taken too long to come down, so he’s gone back home early to try and get himself ready for his game (Leicester City vs Crystal Palace) on the weekend. We’ve got to have faith in more than one person, and you’ll see Bailey Wright step in for him tomorrow (Tuesday) night. He’s doing great at his club, but he’s also done great for us every time he’s played and started and I look forward to seeing him and other players prosper.
Arnold on the fan support during the FIFA World Cup:
It was this (the scenes at Federation Square) that inspired the players enormously. It was just amazing. When I first got sent the video, I thought someone was taking the mickey out of me, because I hadn’t seen those types of scenes since the (1983) America's Cup, all those years ago. By the time we got to the Denmark game, we’d seen all the scenes right around Australia. Before the Denmark game, it wasn’t really a tactical video session that I had to give; it was just the fan sites - the inspiration of the nation - and you could see the players had tears in their eyes as they walked out of the meeting. They would have done anything to win that game against them.
Arnold on Riley McGree’s form:
He will start and I can’t wait because he’s been in unbelievable form for Middlesbrough, who are on the edge of hopefully promotion to give us another English Premier League Player. Riley’s form has been incredible. His body’s changed completely and he’s much more of an athlete. But again, I’m going to say it, but we just need the youth to play more games. If you look at the kids that have gone overseas that were with the Olympic team, they’re all playing 50 or 60 games. Because he’s playing much more, he’s so much better because he’s doing it more every day. And mentally he believes in himself a lot more and that’s a massive thing.
Arnold on preparing for the Asian Cup:
Yeah, look publicly, it’s obviously a welcome home. And it’s an opportunity for the fans and the players to say thank you. But internally, for me, right from the day I re-signed, it was all about these games being preparation for the Asian Cup. That’s all I’m focusing on at the moment. So I want some good games in June and September. Obviously, we’ve got England, my dream, in October, and our World Cup qualifiers start in November. It’s an important window to get ready for that.
Wright on coming in to the starting XI:
Obviously, any opportunity when you come into the national team is always special and you always want to be on that pitch and represent your country. So to get that opportunity to pay, particularly here in Melbourne is always close to my heart. I’ll be able to share that with friends and family which you don’t get too often when living on the other side of the world.
Wright on the youngsters being integrated into the squad:
We’re at the start of a new cycle, and I think we’ve got a real blend of experience and youth with some of the boys that are coming in, so there’s a lot to be excited about. For me, I want to be on that pitch and playing, but I also want to play my part and share any knowledge and experience I have with some of the younger boys to help their journey. It might be a chat here or there pushing the standards and trying to make them aware of what levels they can get to. I’m not alone in kind of sharing that amongst young boys, and I think that’s a testament to the culture that we’ve got that environment where we want to help each other not just on the football pitch, but off it.
Wright on the scenes in Melbourne during the FIFA World Cup:
I get goosebumps now thinking about what we did to a nation and what we did to Federation Square to pull everyone together. We want to get as many people down there supporting us at Marvel (Stadium) and we want to make sure we put on a show for people so hopefully they keep coming back and support us all the way.
Behich on competition with Jordy Bos:
It’s always good to have a lot of boys coming in. We’ve got a great bunch of young boys trying to come in now for the first time. It’s definitely a competitive nature (with Bos). But we’re all on the same path, leading towards the same goal. And our full focus is obviously stating this new campaign the other night which I think we did well, with the Asian Cup coming up. You know, there’s players in every position and we compete and push each other, but at the end of the day, we’re all leading towards the same goal.
Behich on building towards the 2023 Asian Cup:
We call these friendlies but they’re not really as you saw the other night. We’ve got to keep that winning mentality going. The result was great, and we played well, but we analysed the game and where we can improve so this next game we’re going to chop it up a notch. As I said, we’ve got to keep that winning mentality because that becomes a habit. And leading into the Asian Cup, you want momentum.
Irvine on Friday’s win over Ecuador:
You can never be too satisfied and we always want to improve, but with a few changes of personnel and against a really tough opponent, to get a good result and play in the way we did was great. I thought we pressed really well and also scored from a set play - scoring different kinds of goals is always a good thing. But I think we’ve given ourselves a baseline of the levels and standards of performance that we set, and you have to continue to maintain that.
Irvine on the journey and progression since the World Cup:
The journey over the last four years was unique and kind of came to a head over the playoff games and into the World Cup - that last six months were just hugely intense. For us, it’s about harnessing the energy and everything that we’ve brought over the last year and taking it forward and continuing to grow as a group.
Irvine on blending youth with experience in the squad:
It’s just the new generation of modern football - no fear, no backward step. I have a different role within the team now on and off the field, helping the younger players grow into their new roles because they’re going to make up the core of this team for the years to come. For me, that’s probably one of the things I’m most excited about is seeing the growth that they’ve got in front of them and we’ve seen it already with some of their progressions even since the World Cup.