Arnold to miss crucial Vietnam qualifier after contracting COVID

Graham Arnold won’t be coaching the Socceroos this week after testing positive for COVID-19, forcing him into isolation and adding another layer of disruption to the team’s challenging World Cup qualification campaign.

Arnold quipped on Friday after naming his 25-man squad for their upcoming matches against Vietnam and Oman that his fingers would be crossed all weekend, in the hope that the pandemic wouldn’t intervene and stop his players from travelling from around the world for the must-win clashes.

Socceroos boss Graham Arnold won’t be coaching against Vietnam this week.Credit:Getty Images

Instead, he has fallen victim to the coronavirus, according to sources close to the national team – blocking him from linking up with his players in Melbourne this week or from being on the touchline at AAMI Park on Thursday night, when Australia are due to face Vietnam.

His assistant, Dutchman Rene Meulensteen, will instead take charge of that match, although it’s expected Arnold will still make remote contributions to the team’s preparations. Arnold is said to be in good spirits and physically healthy.

Graham Arnold with Rene Meulensteen, who will take charge of the Socceroos this week in Melbourne.Credit:Getty

It’s unclear if the positive test result will stop him from travelling with the Socceroos to Oman next week, with their second match of this international break due to take place on February 1 in Muscat.

Meulensteen has been part of the Socceroos set-up since 2018, and is best known for his tenure as a first-team coach under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United between 2007 and 2013.

Sources familiar with the unfolding situation said arrangements were being made to inform players of Arnold’s COVID diagnosis, with those selected still completing club duties before they are due to form camp in Melbourne.

COVID-19 has severely impacted Australia’s path to the World Cup in Qatar later this year. It has regularly hampered Arnold’s ability to select his best players and has previously infected some of his assistant coaches, at one point forcing Arnold to take charge of one camp all by himself. It also stopped the team from playing any matches at home between the onset of the pandemic and late last year, when the Socceroos made their long-awaited return to Aussie soil in a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia in Sydney.

That result, along with a disappointing 1-1 draw with China in the UAE five days later, means the Socceroos must win all four of their remaining qualifiers to be assured of reaching the World Cup directly.

If they finish third in Group B, where they currently sit behind the Saudis and arch-rivals Japan, they will still have a chance of reaching Qatar but would have to beat Asia’s other third-placed finisher and then the fifth-best team from South America in sudden-death, one-off matches to be staged in a neutral country.

Speaking on Friday before his diagnosis, Arnold spoke of how the coronavirus had shaped the selection of his squad, with some players not picked because they had recently recovered from COVID-19 but weren’t back to full fitness.

“I’ve had in the past camps, especially the last three camps, players been ruled out with COVID … [it] really is an individual thing about how you recover,” he said.

“From what I’ve seen and what I’ve learned over the last 12 months with this pandemic, everyone is different, and everyone takes different time to recover. For me, it’s more about they’re all challenges that we’ve got to get on with and I’ve picked a squad that I believe is strong, healthy and ready.”

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