Australia coach Arnold on a knife edge after bleak loss to Japan

MELBOURNE : Australia coach Graham Arnold's future is up in the air following the World Cup qualifying loss to Japan, with local media reports he may be sacked as early as next week.

Arnold came into the home match under fire after breaching Australia's mandatory isolation period following his positive test for COVID-19, while needing a win to keep alive the Socceroos' hopes of qualifying automatically for the finals in Qatar.

Instead, the dreary 2-0 defeat to the Blue Samurai condemned them to a perilous path of playoffs, while underlining Australian football's stagnation relative to top Asian nations.

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers reported Football Australia are weighing sacking him after next Tuesday's dead rubber qualifier against Saudi Arabia, citing unnamed sources privy to the governing body's decision-making.

FA did not provide immediate comment when contacted by Reuters on Saturday but said in February they would back Arnold through to the end of qualifying.

Arnold's agent said the coach would not comment on whether he had FA's support to continue in the role.

Arnold defended his team's performance against the Blue Samurai and said he backed them to get through the June playoffs in Qatar.

"I believe in these boys," he said. "It is one game at a time and one camp at the time, and we will see what happens."

Arnold might take some comfort in recent history, with Australia having qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia via the playoffs route under Ange Postecoglou.

Like Arnold now, Postecoglou was pilloried by former players and pundits for failing to secure an automatic ticket to Russia.

They forgave Postecoglou after Australia beat Syria and Honduras in playoffs to qualify for Russia, but the coach