Subway Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold wants supporters in Melbourne to be in full voice for the Saudi Arabia match on Thursday, 14 November 2024.
He hopes that this match, which is part of the Round Three AFC Asian Qualifiers™ – Road To 26 Qualification campaign, is one where the home crowd is at its best.
“Melbourne fans bring a football atmosphere to the games,” Arnold said. “They've supported us very, very well and they bring a lot of energy to the players.”
The city of Melbourne has been a successful place for the Socceroos of late, and Arnold says the players love playing at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
“I think that it's always been great for us to play World Cup qualifiers down here in Melbourne,” Arnold said.
“The last time we lost a World Cup qualifier down here in Melbourne was in 1977, so it's always been an area, and a stadium that the boys enjoy coming to. We have great memories over the last couple of years.”
Arnie is eager for the crowd in Melbourne to be in full voice and make it really feel like a tough place to come and play for the opposition.
“Whenever we play away from home, we get no support at all, and we've managed to get the boys used to playing against hostile environments, so we want the same for us when we play back here,” he said.
“Melbourne always brings that, and it can make it awkward for the opponents, because the crowd is the 12th man, and we need them enormously.”
Of course, before this match in Melbourne, the Socceroos have four qualification games to get through.
In the September international fixtures, the Socceroos host Bahrain before travelling to Indonesia. Then, in October, the team will face China at home and Japan away.
This match against Saudi Arabia in November feels like a while away, but the Socceroos boss is confident that the group is already focused on the job at hand.
“The goals that I set the players are always high standards and the first goal for them, and I've already spoken to all the players, the first goal is direct qualification,” he said.
“For the boys, we obviously want to make the nation proud, as well as their family's proud, and football in Australia proud - it all starts again in a couple of weeks’ time and the goal is direct qualification.”
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Match Details
Subway Socceroos v Saudi Arabia
Thursday, 14 November 2024
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off: TBC
Tickets: Start from $20 Child, $25 Concession, $35 Adult, and $65 Family. Tickets from Ticketek.
Football Account Pre-Sale: 10.00am AEST on Thursday, 22 August 2024.
General Public On-Sale: 2.00pm AEST Monday, 26 August 2024.