Revealed: Socceroos annoint new coach Tony Popovic who faces a baptism of fire to resurrect World Cup hopes after Graham Arnold stepped down
- Former boss Graham Arnold has stepped down from his position
- Comes after shocking results in recent qualifying
- New coach will have little time to get used to it
Tony Popovic has won the race to become manager of the Socceroos and fans won’t have to wait long to hear from the coach on how he plans to fix Australia’s faltering World Cup qualifying campaign.
Graham Arnold made the shock decision to step down as coach last week, having fallen foul of the Socceroos’ recent troubles.
Australia’s World Cup qualification is in limbo after the country began the final round of qualifying with a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Bahrain and a 0-0 away draw at Indonesia.
The Socceroos need to finish in the top two of their six-team group to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
If they finish third or fourth, they will have to qualify again, and the road to the World Cup will become increasingly dangerous.
Popovic, who has played 58 caps for Australia as a centre-back, could be announced as coach by Football Australia on Monday.
His contract is expected to run until the end of the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Former Socceroo Tony Popovic has won the race to lead the national team to the next World Cup
Former Socceroos manager Graham Arnold resigned after disastrous start to qualifying
Popovic’s first task is to lead the Socceroos against China in Adelaide on October 10.
A win there is simply essential if Australia is to stay close to Group C leaders Japan and number two Saudi Arabia.
Japan have won two games from two and have a goal difference of plus 12.
Saudi Arabia have won and drawn their first two matches.
After facing China, who had yet to win a single match, the Socceroos face a tough away game against Japan five days later.
Popovic has been unemployed since leaving Melbourne Victory following their A-League Men’s final loss to Central Coast Mariners.
The 51-year-old, who previously worked as an assistant at Crystal Palace in his coaching career and has managed clubs in Turkey and Greece, has been living in Croatia since deciding not to extend his contract with Victory.
The Socceroos have little time to improve their chances under their new coach
Popovic led Western Sydney Wanderers to the Asian Champions League title in 2014.
He also led Perth Glory to the ALM Championships and helped Victory win the Australia Cup.
Popovic was in the running for the Socceroos job in 2013, but lost out to Ange Postecoglou, who now coaches Tottenham in the English Premier League.
Arnold entered the current qualifying phase confident that he had enough talent to break through the stoic defence of his Asian rivals.
With the Socceroos failing to score a single goal against Bahrain or Indonesia, Arnold went down and Popovic now faces the challenge of turning the tide for his country.