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Graham Arnold taking Lebanon friendly seriously
Graham Arnold, the head coach of the Australian Football team, insists that the upcoming friendly fixture versus Lebanon which will be the final game of Tim Cahill’s international career is not going to revolve only around the legendary player only.
He will not be starting and will be sent on the ground in only the dying stages of the match. Arnold is of the opinion that since its Cahill’s farewell game, the final few moments can revolve around him, but the entire game can’t revolve around him because it’s a vital game from the team’s point of view.
Australia have had a mixed season, since performing badly at the World Cup. They are not going to play any more games ahead of the Asian Cup, where they remain amongst the favourites, but still have a lot of work to do if they are to beat the likes of South Korea and Japan. This is the last opportunity for him as a coach to assess the players in a game situation and make his calls.
According to Arnold, there are currently 5 or 6 spots in the squad which nobody owns. There is competition for those spots at the moment. There are a few players who are on the fringes and they should ensure that they push that little bit extra in the Lebanon game and put themselves ahead in the line.
“The first 85 minutes is all about our performance. The last five minutes can be for Timmy.” Arnold was quoted saying by ESPN.
““There are still half a dozen positions up for grabs.“ Tomorrow night is an “opportunity for those players“ to show not only myself but the country that they’re hungry.” Arnold added.
Arnold also said that there will be chances for everyone. He gave chances to the players in the previous friendly too and he is pleased that most of those players grabbed that chance with both hands and put on a good show. A few of them would be in the starting XI again against Lebanon, but the others would be rested so that new faces could come in because the idea is to assess everyone who is in line of selection for the Asian Cup.