Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has delighted in Australia’s learning experience and unearthing of depth against Ecuador as he turns his focus to the start of a new World Cup cycle and next year’s Asian Cup.
Arnold shrugged off a difficult 2-1 loss in the second match in Melbourne, four days after a 3-1 victory in Sydney, instead savouring his four debutants and building depth.
“It was a great series. It’s a great opportunity to give some of the young boys an opportunity and also to see what it takes to be top players,” he said. “A team in South America that finished fourth in their qualifiers. They did well at the World Cup.
“These types of things are great learning experiences for the players. We set a challenge for the boys at the start of the camp of winning the series. So, me being positive, we won the series: one win each, we scored four goals and they scored three.”
Arnold delighted in goalkeeper Joe Gauci’s debut while Alex Robertson, Aiden O’Neill and Jordan Bos all showed signs in their respective first games.
“I see this as a fantastic 10 days,” Arnold said. “We found players. We found three, four or five kids that can handle the level. And they’re only going to get better. But we need to expose them to these types of things.
“When you see players that can deal with those types of teams and those types of players, you just know that the future is bright for the kids. Before the camp, it was about finding some more players and getting players ready for it. Which players could step up? It’s been a win, for me.”
Arnold noted his players would learn from Ecuador’s physicality but said they got far more out of their two games than they would have against a weaker opponent.
European-based Socceroos were due to fly home early Wednesday morning. That includes midfielder Riley McGree, who will switch his focus back to Middlesbrough’s bid for promotion to the Premier League.
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“I’ve got high expectations of myself, that I want to set the bar as high as I can and do things that I’ve dreamed of doing,” he said.
The Socceroos hope to play two games at home in the June window but are yet to lock in opponents. They are also eyeing action in September before taking on England at Wembley in October.
Arnold will stay in Australia to watch the A-League Men finals while deferring scouting responsibilities in Europe to assistant René Meulensteen. The Socceroos are expected to continue their attempts to woo prospects and Italian youth internationals Cristian Volpato and Alessandro Circati.
