Skip to main content

Australia's Graham Arnold Not Focusing On Faceless France

Coach Graham Arnold said on Monday he refuses to even mention the word France, let alone any of their players, as outsiders Australia prepare for their World Cup opener against the reigning champions in Qatar. Even without Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema, midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante and centre-back Presnel Kimpembe, France are full of global stars, led by Kylian Mbappe. But Arnold doesn't want his players to get overawed by illustrious opponents and has tried to present the French as faceless positions with specific strengths and attributes rather than star individuals.

"It's not being disrespectful at all but I've hardly mentioned the word France and I've hardly mentioned any players' names," said the Socceroos coach.

"They all play in positions, the players know who they are but it's about identifying those players' strengths and it's one against one.

"There's 10 blue shirts against 10 yellow shirts and it's a fight."

Captain and goalkeeper Mathew Ryan said it was about finding the right balance in their approach.

Sponsored by Vuukle

"The biggest focus for us has been the mentality and the boys have grasped the mentality: we go into every game, whoever we're facing, with the right amount of respect," he said.

"We don't underestimate anybody and we don't over-respect anyone and that's a real challenge."

'Opportunity to change life'

French centre-back Ibrahima Konate admitted last week that he does not even know the names of any of Australia's players, and Arnold is determined to change that by full time on Tuesday.

"It's our job to go out there tomorrow to show them who we are as a nation," said Arnold of the Group D clash.

"The players have that stage, it's their stage and this is an opportunity in life that can change your life even more than what they have now."

Arnold pointed to the example of winger Martin Boyle, who was ruled out of the World Cup on Sunday with a knee injury, as a reason for his players to grasp this opportunity.

"A lot of players don't even get one chance. All I'd say is every player needs to look at Martin Boyle today and realise how fortunate they are to be here and run off the back of that."

Running hard is the bare minimum Arnold expects from his players.

"I've banned the word 'fatigued' and I've banned the words 'in pain'," he added.

"This is the World Cup, there's no such thing as being tired after a game or fatigued or having a bit of pain and stiffness: recover quickly and get on with it!"

One problem Australia will not have to deal with is Ballon d'Or winner Benzema, who has been ruled out due to a thigh problem.

But Arnold said he would have rather seen the prolific Real Madrid forward lining up in Qatar.

"I'm disappointed that he's not playing because it's a great experience to be able to play against the world player of the year, but that's how it is."

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

FIFA President's Message Got Lost In Translation: Tracey Holmes, ABC Broadcaster

Topics mentioned in this article

Adblock test (Why?)



from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/l2y4YwK https://ift.tt/FIgAjk2
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Defense Chief Austin To Make 'Full Recovery' From Cancer: Doctors

Austin, a 70-year-old career soldier, initially underwent minor surgery to treat cancer on December 22. Washington: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is likely to make a "full recovery" from prostate cancer and his prognosis is "excellent," two doctors said after he was seen at Walter Reed hospital for a follow-up appointment. Austin controversially kept US President Joe Biden in the dark about the cancer diagnosis for weeks, and did not inform either the commander-in-chief or Congress until days after he was hospitalized on January 1 for complications from his treatment. "Secretary Austin was seen today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a scheduled post-prostatectomy surveillance appointment," the doctors said in a statement released by the Pentagon. "He continues to recover well and is expected to make a full recovery. Secretary Austin's prostate cancer was treated early and effectively, and his prognosis is excellent,...

North Korea Says It Tested New Strategic Cruise Missile

North Korea test-fired a new generation of strategic cruise missile on Wednesday. (Representational) Seoul: North Korea fired several cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state. Hours later, North Korea appeared to confirm the firing, saying it had carried out its first test of a new generation of strategic cruise missiles it is developing, the Pulhwasal-3-31. Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an "underwater nuclear weapon system" and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile. "Our military detected several cruise missiles launched by North Korea towards the Yellow Sea at around 7:00 am today," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang. Cruise...

US "Deplores" Israeli Attack On UN Training Center In Gaza

More than 25,000 people have been killed in Gaza since war began against Hamas. Washington: The United States was concerned by an Israeli attack on a U.N. training center sheltering displaced people in Gaza's Khan Younis on Wednesday, Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said, repeating Washington's calls for protection of civilians, humanitarian workers and aid facilities. "We deplore today's attack on the U.N.'s Khan Younis training center," Patel told a news briefing, calling it "incredibly concerning." The Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza said that nine Palestinians were killed and 75 were injured when two tank rounds hit the building that was sheltering around 800 people in the southern Gaza Strip. "Civilians must be protected, and the protected nature of UN facilities must be respected, and humanitarian workers must be protected so that they can continue providing civilians with the life-saving humanitarian assistance...