However, Australia has had an average year. In the Asian Cup, Australia was held to a 1-1 draw by Uzbekistan and lost 1-2 to South Korea in the knockout round. After reaching the round of 18, Australia's performance was even more dismal. They were beaten 0-1 by Bahrain at home and 0-0 by Indonesia in the second round. After two rounds of matches, Australia had not scored a single goal and had only one point, placing them fifth in Group C. China lost their second consecutive match.
After the 0-0 draw against Indonesia in the second round, Australia coach Arnold had thoughts of resigning. He said:- "After the game against Indonesia (0-0), I said I would make some decisions. After much deliberation, my instincts told me it was time to make a change, both for myself and for the team."
"My decision to resign was based on what was best for the country, the players and Football Australia. I have given all I have to this role and I am very proud of what I have achieved during my tenure."
Following Arnold's resignation, Football Federation Australia quickly joined the process of selecting a coach. After all, on October 10th, Australia will welcome their third opponent in the Top 18, China. Although China is not strong, Australia should not lose in the Top 18. After all, the opponents in the same group are good, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Bahrain are all salivating for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
In fact, Australia is not the first team in the Top 18 to change its coach. Just yesterday, Oman, which lost all its matches in the first two rounds, also made the decision to change its coach. Oman officially announced the departure of head coach Hirshawi. In the first two rounds of the 18-team tournament, Oman lost 0-1 to Iraq and 1-3 to South Korea. Shirhawi led his team to two consecutive losses and dropped to the bottom of Group B. Finally, the Oman Football Association made the decision to let him go.
Australia and Oman, who played poorly in the first two rounds, have made the decision to change their coaches, while the Chinese men's soccer team, who lost nine goals in the first two rounds, chose to continue to believe in their head coach Ivan. The CFA has been completely flat on their backs, and they don't want to "fiddle" with the coaching issue.
