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Graham Arnold believes no international team should have to go through what the Socceroos endured against Mexico after they were lucky to escape from AT&T Stadium’s artificial pitch with a 2-2 draw and without serious injury.
Arnold attributed both of the goals Australia conceded in the second half of Sunday’s friendly in Arlington, Texas to the quirks of synthetic surfaces, which are common in the United States despite evidence which suggests they increase the risk of injury to players.
Harry Souttar heads past Johan Vasquez to score Australia’s first goal.Credit: AP
Accordingly, Australian hearts were in mouths when midfielder Jackson Irvine went down in the dying minutes with a badly rolled ankle and had to be taken from the field in a stretcher. He has since been cleared of any structural damage after being X-rayed moments after the final whistle at the stadium, which is the state-of-the-art home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
“He’s OK,” Arnold said. “It’s just a rolled ankle, bit of swelling on it. No doubt he’ll be injured for a couple of weeks, but he’s fine.”
Midfielder Jackson Irvine has been cleared of serious injury.Credit: Getty
FIFA permits friendly matches to be played on artificial pitches, but not World Cup fixtures – so come 2026, when the tournament is to be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, the pitch at AT&T Stadium will be replaced by natural grass.
Arnold said he was “quite stressed” about the prospect of serious injury and had to select his squad and team accordingly, choosing players who had more club minutes under their belts where possible because they were more physically prepared for the surface.
“It’s completely different to what the players are used to … normal grass is softer. They will struggle to probably walk for five days after this, I think, after playing on the artificial,” he said. “It’s clear to see that it’s a difficult surface to play on.”
And while he stressed he did not want to use it as an excuse for the result, Arnold also claimed it was the main reason why the Socceroos let a two-goal lead slip against El Tri.
Harry Souttar put Australia in front with a header from a 16th-minute corner kick before Martin Boyle, playing his first international since Australia’s famous World Cup qualifying play-off win over Peru, converted a penalty in the 63rd minute after a clear foul on Riley McGree.
But Mexico’s Raul Jimenez hit back six minutes later – also from the penalty spot – when debutant Cameron Burgess nudged over Uriel Antuna as they chased a skidding long ball.
Martin Boyle scores Australia’s second goal from the penalty spot.Credit: AP
Then a horrendous miscommunication between Souttar and skipper Maty Ryan, who failed to defuse another Mexican long ball in the 83rd minute after the latter appeared to call on the former to leave it to him, allowed Cesar Huerta to square things up.
“I’ve already looked at the goals conceded. If it was on normal grass, both of those balls would have gone through to Maty Ryan or out,” Arnold said.
“The Mexicans know how to play on it more than we do. On this type of surface, if you kick the ball and backspin it, normally with backspin on grass, it skids through. On this grass, and rubber, it bounces up, and it holds up. Maty was probably in a position where he thought ‘That’ll skid through to me’ and it bounced pretty much upright.”
Souttar was the sole exception to Arnold’s selection rules on match-fit players, with the coach admitting he wanted to put the 24-year-old defender “on the big stage, where he belongs” after being mystifyingly frozen out of first-team action at Leicester City, who have not fielded him in a single competitive game since their relegation from the Premier League.
“With a bit of luck, people back in England are watching him today, and watched what he did so well,” he said.
While Arnold gave a firm and direct ‘no’ when asked if he thought international matches should be played on artificial pitches, he still thought the exercise was worthwhile for the Socceroos. They will learn plenty from another difficult test, in front of a raucous hostile crowd against the world’s No.12-ranked side – particularly when it comes to intel on what to expect in 2026.
“It’s probably been the best learning experience that you could have,” he said.
“I can’t be disappointed in one player. Their effort was amazing, it was outstanding, the energy was great. The crowd … the boys had 12 men to play against. I couldn’t be prouder of them, but we need to do better.”
Next up is England at Wembley Stadium on October 14 (AEST).
“We’re going to do a stumping as well,” Arnold laughed.
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