Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has conceded his side needs help to ensure they can pick the best possible players for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Australia will kick off their third round of qualifying for a place in Qatar on September 2 against China.
The green and gold have had to forfeit playing that game on home soil due to COVID-19 and the government not granting any quarantine exemptions for travelling players.
That means the Socceroos must find another country in Asia to host the match with Australian-based players then facing at least 14 days in quarantine upon their return. With the FFA Cup hoping to resume in September and the A-League kicking off in late October, clubs may be reluctant to release their players for such a long time frame.
Arnold admits the squad selection process is far more complex than it once was and is hoping the Socceroos can secure the cooperation of clubs.
“The days of just picking a player and making a statement and saying that he’s in the squad and if he doesn’t turn up he’s suspended [are over],” Arnold said via ESPN.
“Football Australia (FA) are talking to the clubs about the September and October windows because we need help, we need our best players.
“Obviously, we are communicating with the players, we are communicating with the clubs and the A-League clubs…I need our best players.”
FA CEO James Johnson is leading discussions with the clubs and admitted that having players stuck in quarantine for a fortnight isn’t ideal for anyone.
“We are speaking with clubs about when we can use the players. It’s not practical for the players to go abroad and come back after nine days and sit 14 days in a hotel three months in a row,” Johnson said.
“It’s not good for players, the club or the national team because players won’t be fit.
“We’re trying to find pragmatic solutions with the clubs around trying to use the players for hopefully two out of three windows and what I can say is those conversations are going in the right direction. “We’ve got some really sensible people in clubland and we’ll find an agreement that works for us and A-League clubs.”
Following the match against China, the Socceroos will travel to Vietnam for a second qualifier on September 7.
After that international window, Australia are then expected to host Oman on October 7 before heading to Japan for a match on October 12.
