Reality may bite for Socceroos with World Cup fate in precarious position

Sitting third in Group B, one point off second-place as the third phase of AFC World Cup qualification enters the home straight, the Socceroos find themselves walking a tightrope as they prepare for pivotal games against Vietnam and Oman. Not helping their precarious position is the absence of Graham Arnold who will miss at least the first of four crucial upcoming fixtures that will likely come to define perceptions of his coaching career.

Wins against Vietnam in Melbourne on Thursday night andOmannext week, along with victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in the next international window, would guarantee the Socceroos an automatic qualification slot for Qatar 2022 and avoid a sudden-death playoff against a South American nation. Alternatively, as unpalatable such a playoff is, a win over Oman, even in the event that wins over Japan and/or Saudi Arabia are not forthcoming in March, would go a long way to ensuring that the Socceroos would not suffer the ignominy of falling into fourth and missing out entirely.

Unfortunate as it is, Arnold’s diagnosis is nonetheless an apropos twist in the tale of this qualification cycle, which will be forever framed as the Covid campaign – the most logistically challenging any Australian side has ever been handed.

Numerous players and staff have contracted the virus, rendering them both unavailable for individual windows and, for some players, left them with lingering effects that have hampered their fitness and form. With Australia’s borders shut and other nations introducing arduous quarantine requirements, the external effects of Covid have also led to various players at A-League Men clubs and figures such as Aaron Mooy withdrawing from consideration for selection.

The border