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Socceroos coach Graham Arnold took joy in his side’s 7-0 win over Bangladesh to start their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign on Thursday night, but he admits next week’s game against Palestine has been weighing on his mind.
Home town striker Jamie Maclaren scored three goals in the second half to claim his second Socceroos hat-trick while Mitch Duke scored twice, Harry Souttar headed a goal and Brandon Borrello tapped another one home in front of 20,876 fans at AAMI Park.
Jamie Maclaren scores a goal.Credit: Eddie Jim
Bangladesh are ranked 183rd in the FIFA rankings compared to the 27th-ranked Australia, and it showed when Souttar cracked home his header just four minutes into the game.
“The most important thing for me was our mindset; if we had any complacency then you wouldn’t have had a result like that,” Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said.
But the goals and smiles may be in shorter supply when they travel to Kuwait to face Palestine on Wednesday at 1am AEDT.
The game was moved to Kuwait from Gaza once the conflict broke out and a large crowd is expected due to the size of the Palestinian ex-pat community.
But the location is secondary to how the two teams will be received given the game could attract more attention than usual after the ongoing conflict with Israel has seen more than 10,000 Palestinians killed in response to the deadly Hamas attack on October 7.
Arnold broke Frank Farina’s record for most “A” internationals as Socceroos coach leading his 59th game on Thursday night and in the lead-up, the team presented him with a video filled with tributes from loved ones and other leading figures like Wayne Bennett and Jeff Fenech.
“I couldn’t speak after it,” Arnold said.
“Having such coaching legends like Wayne Bennett, Trent Robinson and a good friend of mine in Jeff Fenech giving me those kinds of messages along with players I had coached and my family – it was quite emotional for me.
Head coach Graham Arnold greets past Socceroos players.Credit: Getty Images
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. My main focus has been on these two games and with everything that has been going on in the Middle East at the moment, it has been quite stressful for me.
“We’ve been making sure everything is great and we are getting ready for these games.”
Arnold praised Football Australia for its work in setting up the trip with a chartered flight taking the team directly to Kuwait on Saturday.
Souttar said the players would be professional and focus on chasing an important qualifying win.
Harry Souttar celebrates the first goal.Credit: Getty Images
“We know what’s going on, it’s horrendous for both sides,” Souttar said.
“I’m not going to stand here and give a political view. All I can say is that we will be going in focusing purely on the game and nothing else.
“We know they are going to be right up for it and playing for a lot more than just football.”
Souttar’s performance was a boost for the Leicester City defender who has been out of favour with coach Enzo Maresca at his English Championship club.
He thanked Arnold for keeping faith in him despite only playing two games so far this season.
“I feel a little bit fortunate that I’ve got the boss backing me and keeping his faith in me even though I’m not playing much football,” Souttar said.
“It’s a kind of frustrating time but I can’t complain too much as we are top of the league and the boys are flying. It’s just great to be back on the grass with Australia – I’m loving every minute of it.”
The 25-year-old was asked if he would be looking for a move away from the Foxes when the January transfer window opens.
“I definitely want to stay and fight for my place, for sure,” Souttar said.
“But I’ve had a good couple of conversations with the manager and he knows that whenever he needs me, I’ll be 100 per cent ready.”
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