Former Socceroos’ boss Graham Arnold will seek to reach the finals of another World Cup after taking the reins as coach of Iraq.
The 61-year-old Sydneysider, who guided his national team to the last-16 of the global showpiece in 2022, was named as the Iraqis’ head coach on Friday and will be thrown straight in to rescue their ailing World Cup quest.
Arnold, who left the Australia job in September after six years in charge, has a tough job to get Iraq to the 2026 competition in North America with the team lying third in group B of Asian qualifying.
They face two huge games against leaders South Korea in Basra on June 5 and second-placed Jordan in Amman five days later.
If they win both matches, Iraq would earn qualification for the World Cup for the first time since their debut in 1986 but it’s a tall order with Arnold’s Spanish predecessor Jesus Casas having been sacked halfway through his four-year contract in March after a calamitous 2-1 loss to Palestine.
It will be Arnold’s first job in soccer since he steered the Socceroos through the group stages in Qatar, only to lose a close one with eventual champions Argentina in the last 16.
Graham Arnold steered the Socceroos to the final 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup but walked away after a poor start to qualifying in 2024
Arnold will now manage Asian rivals Iraq and try to emulate the success he had with Australia
But he left the job after Australia made a disappointing start to the third round of qualifiers for the 2026 finals.
Now he has a second chance to get to the big show with a third or fourth-place group-stage finish still offering Arnold the chance to take Iraq through via the fourth stage of Asian qualifying.
Recently, Arnold has been helping mentor South Sydney’s kickers, including Latrell Mitchell, in the NRL.
Meanwhile Football Australia is on the lookout for a new chief executive after James Johnson announced his resignation from the role that has taken in some of the most turbulent and dramatic periods in the sport’s recent history.
Johnson informed staff of his decision to walk away from the top job after five years at the helm at a meeting on Thursday.
His decision to step down just weeks out from the governing body’s annual general meeting on May 23 will raise eyebrows but FA sources insisted the timing was merely coincidental.
‘As someone who is immensely passionate about Australian football, this decision has not come easy, but I believe the time is right to step down,’ Johnson said in a statement.
‘I want to extend my thank you to the Football Australia board and everyone within the Australian football community for their support during my tenure.’
FA have appointed former Matildas player Heather Garriock as an interim chief executive, with Johnson to complete a handover period following the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifying window in June.
