Six months of no football won’t stop Mooy starting Socceroos’ must-win clash

Graham Arnold is set to start Aaron Mooy in the Socceroos’ most important match in more than four years despite the star midfielder having gone almost six months without playing any competitive football.

Just a week ago, the 31-year-old midfielder was flagged as little more than a substitute option for Australia’s World Cup Qualifying play-off against the UAE on Wednesday morning due to a lack of match fitness, having not played club or international football since January 4.

However, the former Huddersfield and Brighton man is now being strongly considered as a starting option for the do-or-die fixture, having impressed Australia’s coach and fitness staff since arriving into camp.

Before arriving in Doha, Mooy had only played 104 minutes of football this season and none since January 4. China’s COVID-19 lockdowns delayed the start of the Super League season and Mooy refused to return to Shanghai SIPG for preseason in fear of being denied travel for the Socceroos.

It meant his first taste of football came with the Socceroos’ friendly against Jordan last week where he exceeded the expectations of Australia’s strength and conditioning staff.

“That was the biggest positive probably out of the game. It just shows you just how much Aaron has been working back in Scotland, working hard on his fitness,” Arnold said. “He got through sixty minutes. But after I took him and after the game when I asked him how he felt, he said he could have kept going.”

When asked whether Mooy was capable of playing 90 minutes or more, Arnold said; “I think so. He’s in good shape and [fitness coach] Andrew Clarke worked him hard and worked him well and prepped very really well for this. We needed to get him on the field, 11 v11s, we’ve been able to do some training sessions of 11 v11s working on the defensive side of things.”

The availability of Mooy is a major boost to the Socceroos’ chances of reaching the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Should he start the match, he will fill the big void left by Tom Rogic’s absence with the former Celtic star withdrawing national team camp for personal reasons last week.

Rogic would have entered in rich form, having recently been crowned Australian Player of the Year for his role in Celtic’s league title but Arnold was confident the Socceroos have the attacking midfield stock to replace Rogic.

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“We have got some strength in that position with Adjin Hrustic, Riley McGree and Denis Genreau can play there,” Arnold said. “Tommy with his quality isn’t here but at the end of the day, it gives another player the opportunity.”

While Arnold has hatched a detailed tactical game plan, he says the key to progressing to the final qualifier rests on the team’s fighting spirit. He doesn’t care how Australia wins, he wants the players to show a win-at-all costs mentality, even if it’s ugly.

“I want to see and will see the Aussie DNA and that Aussie DNA is backs to the wall, rally up, get on the pitch, chase, fight, harass and do everything that’s required to win this game,” he said.