Arnold savages players
It would be hard to imagine a more horrifying scene than that of the dejected Socceroos after their embarrassing 3-1 loss to a sparkling Iraq, yet coach Graham Arnold managed to elevate the pain to another level, unleashing a tirade in the post game interview on his players.
“Obviously, there’s some players that don’t want to be here. It was always a risk doing this mid-season, after they’ve had a break” was Arnold’s blunt assessment on Fox Sports.
It’s a loss which makes qualification for the next phase complicated, but not impossible. The Socceroos need to beat Thailand by at least two goals to stand any chance of moving through. Based on the first two efforts though, that equation would seem a moot point.
Asked why the team is struggling, Arnold was succinct. “Lack of discipline”. Arnold also indicated mass changes are on the way. “Absolutely”
The match was level at 1-1 early in the second half when Mark Viduka found the net with a looping long header, set up by a world class cross from Brett Emerton. Viduka missed with another header shortly after. Iraq regained the lead when Nahrat Akram, the man who orchestrated their first goal with a stunning free kick, found Hawar Mulla Mohammed, who drilled the winner past goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on 60 minutes.
The Socceroos pressed forward but the killer came in the 86th minute, when a deflection off Lucas Neill fell at the feet of Muhamed Karrar, who deftly gave the Iraqis their third goal and confirmation of a deserved victory.
“Two stupid mistakes. We can use the heat and humidity as an excuse, but I am very disappointed with some players” said a rampant Arnold, whose job will surely depend on a miraculous recovery against the Thai’s.
Neill’s nightmare was compete when he was red carded in the dying seconds, ruling him out of the Thailand match. Neill was given the full treatment by Arnold.
“Overall Lucas’ whole game was poor. His frustrations at the end I’m very disappointed (in).”
Arnold’s rant wasn’t well received by Socceroos skipper Mark Viduka, who was almost incredulous when told of the coaches thoughts
“What can you say about a statement like that?”
When asked about his sides prospects in the make or break clash on Monday, Arnold wasn’t particularly effusive.
“We’ve only got two days (to recover). We’ll see”
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