Arnold ready for ‘war’ with Messi and co

GRAHAM ARNOLD insists Australia are preparing to go to war with Argentina for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The Socceroos will play their first knockout game since 2006 in the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium tonight. A team forged from players plying their trade in the A-League, the SPFL and Japan’s second tier, few offer Arnold’s side a prayer against one of the tournament favourites. Buoyed by the first-game defeat inflicted on Lionel Scaloni’s side by Saudi Arabia, however, Arnold believes Argentina will bring out the best in his side and vowed to approach the fixture all guns blazing. Guus Hiddink’s assistant the last time Australia reached the second stage, the veteran coach said: ‘The group games are past us and this is a whole new ball game now. It’s a one-off game and anything can happen in one-off games. ‘There is no disrespect to Argentina at all, but it’s eleven versus eleven. It’s ten blue shirts against ten yellow shirts and it’s a battle, it’s a war. ‘We’ve got to fight that and make sure that the boys are in great physical shape, great mental shape. They have great energy and we will go out there and give it all guns blazing.’ Argentina recovered from the stunning reverse against Saudi by beating both Poland and Mexico in Group C. From Messi onwards, the South Americans boast a frightening array of talent. Unfazed, however, Arnold insists Australia have no intention of playing in survival mode. ‘We can’t focus solely on them,’ he countered. ‘I do believe that the short turnaround is an advantage for us because we don’t sit for five days wondering about or thinking about the opposition and Argentina. ‘We have that respect for them. But we also have to respect ourselves and what we bring to the table. We know what their strengths are and we need to take them away from them to have a great chance to win this game. ‘We’ve had a few games now with Argentina. We beat them in 1988, 4-1 in the Gold Cup in Australia. Our Olympic team also beat them 2-0 last year. And I just think that Argentina bring the best out of Australia. ‘Our performances have been very strong. We go into the game with a lot of belief and energy.’ While most of the crowd will be backing Argentina, Covid-19 forced Australia to play the majority of their qualifying games overseas. Before overcoming the South Americans of Peru in a play-off, the Socceroos became regular visitors to Qatar, where they have won six of their last seven games. Familiar and comfortable with their surroundings, Arnold would love to spark more scenes of wild celebration on the streets of Melbourne and beyond. ‘We want more. We haven’t finished yet,’ he said. ‘That’s the most important thing. We are turning up to win another game tomorrow. ‘We are the underdogs and we love that. We love the backs-tothe-wall and no one giving us a chance, and going out there to fight the Aussie spirited way. That’s our strength. ‘You are going to see the best of every Australia player on the pitch tomorrow night because of who we are playing against. ‘The brains need to be switched on. Not for 90 minutes but for 120 minutes. And they have be switched on for every second of that 120 minutes.’ Born in Aberdeenshire, Stoke City defender Harry Souttar played for Scotland’s Under-17s and Under-19s before opting for Australia, the homeland of his mother Heather. Outstanding in recent games, the brother of Rangers defender John insists Australia can’t fixate on stopping Lionel Messi at the expense of all others. ‘We know it’s going to be a difficult task,’ said Souttar. ‘We respect the player (Messi) massively, but I don’t think it’s just an individual thing. ‘We have got to be on our game at all times and be alert to every situation. It is going to be a team effort and I don’t think it can come down to just trying to stop one individual. ‘The last two results have shown what can happen when everyone is on the same page.’ After a difficult start, relative calm has been restored to the Argentine camp. One of the strong favourites to win the trophy, coach Scaloni is respectful of Australia’s talents. Asked by former Australia keeper Mark Schwarzer, now a broadcaster, how he would prepare for playing ‘inferior’ opposition, Scaloni replied: ‘If you are asking if the opponent is inferior or not, well we have to see that. I don’t fully agree. They are a good team and it is eleven versus eleven. ‘This is the reality, so we need to leave aside the favourites label and play the game.’