Socceroos turn focus to new World Cup qualifying cycle after loss to Ecuador

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