Arnie's Socceroos face an uphill climb when their return begins in October 2019. But for Arnie it will feel just like old times all over again as their journey resumes in Australia.

GOLD COAST, Australia — Australian football was certainly unpredictable on Friday night. An evening that managed to both commemorate history and stir up old conflictions was marked by Australia’s Socceroos defeat to Bahrain with their 1-0 loss setting off old arguments and ideological wars to continue long since settled down into familiar themes and arguments. Question, as always: Will Australian football emerge from its prodigious cycle of crisis, renewal and hope before returning to crisis once more? In what was Australia’s inaugural competitive Socceroo fixture ever on the Gold Coast since 1981’s World Cup qualifiers with real stakes attached, only their second loss occurred despite real stakes attached being up for contention on match day. Bahrain coach Dragan Talajic orchestrated an effective plan that saw his side hold out, frustrate, and ultimately stun Australia before an own goal from Harry Souttar gave Ghawaseen Al-Lulu its first win against them after seven attempts. Bahrainians’ joy at referee Omar al-Ali’s final whistle clearly demonstrated what this result meant to their side; their hopes of qualifying for their inaugural World Cup appearance have been raised thanks to 48 teams participating this time around. After their game against Golden City, their upbeat coach exclaimed in an audible voice “The Golden City will forever remain in my thoughts”. Editor’s PicksBut if the opening game of Asian qualification will become one of Manama’s fondest memories, those in Green and Gold would rather forget it quickly. Australian sides typically don’t lose such games at home; at least that was what Australia was supposed to be capable of doing; yet another time when asked to take control and break down an underdog team like Bahrain’s, Australia failed to capitalize on possession and convert any attacks onto Bahraini goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla; Jackson Irvine and Maty Ryan bemoaned how little work the Bahraini goalie was put through during their loss. By halftime, Australia had won 70% of possession but had produced only one shot on target – identical to Bahrain. Set pieces quickly became Australia’s main path towards goal but on this occasion none managed to hit their target. “Not good enough,” admitted Ryan. “I felt we were too naive when playing this game; rather than working harder but smarter; not enough questions were being posed in relevant areas.” “Much was made postgame of the Bahranis’ time-wasting and gamesmanship tactics; but in truth they worked: numerous VAR checks and stoppages serving to disrupt any momentum the Socceroos built and forcing errors of skill or judgment as frustration rose.” Australian captain Adam Peaty was right: the most effective way of stopping an opponent from wasting time isn’t through becoming frustrated; rather, alter the game state so they no longer gain any advantage from doing so – take control – which ultimately failed with Socceroos failing. Talajic’s side didn’t travel Down Under hoping to please Gold Coast crowd members with their play; rather they came solely with one goal in mind — victory – and their strategy worked better than Arnold’s plan. “They obviously parked a bus, with six players at the back…and had numbers,” according to Australia coach Warren Joyce. Mitchell Duke looks on in frustration following Australia’s World Cup Qualifier loss against Bahrain at Gold Coast’s Matt Roberts/Getty Images’ event, September 5, 2024 Matt Roberts/Getty ImagesHopefully you see that Bahrain are physically big, strong team. But creativity seems to be declining… Though quality remains at high levels in Bahrain. Though this result may mark an unfortunate chapter for their teams and players alike, few who witnessed or observed will likely be taken aback at how it transpired. While Australia suffered one of their poorest results of recent times against South Africa on Wednesday night, their performance itself wasn’t of such poor standard as to signify some kind of new low point for them; rather, issues in breaking down opponents, creating high-quality chances and closing games have plagued Australian sides across both seniors and juniors – men’s and women’s teams alike – for some time now. Yogi Berra once famously noted, it wasn’t some sort of fluke; rather it was deja vu all over again. Previous games saw bounces or moments of luck come the Socceroos’ way and ensure their scoreline would give some measure of favoritism. However, Bahrain have seen more success due to a series of bounces off Souttar’s leg – changing the dialogue. Football often works its magic this way. “You guys love breaking teams down; but that doesn’t work here!” “Football always finds ways to correct itself! Arnold stressed the need to respect Bahrain’s defensive system during their World Cup Qualifier defeat on September 5, 2024 on Australia’s Gold Coast (1-0 loss ). Arnold observed, “They prepared very well. I think Australia overplayed themselves.” Physically, our players were well prepared for us when the night arrived; unfortunately it was one of those nights where, when given opportunities, shots just failed to hit their target – something which has become evident through previous seasons and must change now. Arnold is correct in emphasizing the need for players to take risks when facing tightly packed defenses; Irvine mentioned some “harsh truths” shared among players following this match in their dressing room after it finished. Arnold was right to acknowledge Talajic and his staff’s outstanding effort prior and during this game – they truly did an outstanding job! However, Arnold also pointed out how this outcome may provoke different responses among players and coaches in future matches. As Arnold notes, his job lies in breaking through stubborn low blocks and positioning his players for success in order to win games. On paper, Australia are one of Asia’s finest teams. But while this has often been demonstrated in earlier stages of qualification against Nepal, Bangladesh, and Taiwan; stiffer opponents in subsequent rounds have often managed to take points away from Australia. Games such as Wednesday or those like China (1-1 draw and Oman’s 2-2 stalemate in last cycle’s cycle 5) often don’t make headlines but can define campaigns; there should always be wins if one wants to have success; Indonesia in Jakarta on Tuesday represents one such match-up for Australia. At no point should Australia take Korea lightly; although Australia beat Shin Tae-yong’s side 4-0 at the Asian Cup in December, their youthful unit, consistently supported by diaspora players has only grown stronger over time. Hours after their defeat on Wednesday, Australia made their way into Jeddah with intent, taking an early lead and eventually earning one point against group heavyweight Saudi Arabia with only 34% possession. Should Australia successfully meet this challenge and secure all three points – even though their performance might remain similar – their narrative could shift once more with home matches against China and Japan (whose expectations will likely be lessened) coming next month. Should they fail though, deja vu may start becoming something much scarier.