Pressure mounts on Graham Arnold as Socceroos cop 'embarrassing' new World Cup blow

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is under immense pressure to turn around the team's result having been left stranded at the bottom of the World Cup qualifying group after a 0-0 draw against Indonesia. Arnold faced plenty of criticism from Aussie football fans for the Socceroos' underwhelming performance against Bahrain in the opening game of qualifying last week, which saw the nation lose 1-0.

And things have taken another turn for Arnold and his men after they were unable to crack open Indonesia and were left with just a single point in their second qualifying game. The Socceroos now face a huge task in qualifying for the World Cup directly with Japan five points ahead in first and Saudi Arabia sitting on four points in second.

Nestory Irankunda was a highlight for the Socceroos and showed flashes of his brilliance, but the likes of Craig Goodwin, Adam Taggart and Awer Mabil all missed proper chances. While the Socceroos did put in an improved performance away from home, the team was bereft of ideas in how to break down a stoic defence. Australia had 19 shots, compared to Indonesia's five. This has become a common theme under Arnold with the Socceroos often finding it hard to break down a team that is sitting deep.

“It was a vastly improved performance (from last week) and the boys showed that, but I’m extremely disappointed because how many chances do we create, how many chances do we give?” Arnold said after the match. “It’s been a common theme for over a year.”

While Arnold was adamant the team showed signs of improvement, he too was critical of the players. Although he hasn't given up hope of qualifying directly for the World Cup. "We should have won and won comfortably. We had the chances, we missed chances - again," Arnold added.

"Look, I can only do so much, I can't play the game for them. And at the end of the day, we should have beaten Bahrain - we missed chances - and today we should have won comfortably and we missed chances.

"So I'm as disappointed probably as every other Australian is. But there's another eight games to go and the goal is always to qualify direct but you have those extra play-off spots. For me at this moment, I'm just frustrated and I just need to go home to Australia and have a really good think about things."

Aussie fans call out Graham Arnold for lacklustre display

Arnold proved his doubters wrong at the World Cup having helped the Socceroos go on a stellar run out of the group stage, before losing to eventual champions Argentina. While the Socceroos played pragmatic football with an emphasis on physicality and the counter attack, the same tactics don't necessarily translate back to the Asian qualifying group stage.

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Australia are failing to break down defences having failed two score in two straight games against teams ranked below them. And football fans have become tired of watching a team that appears to lack creativity and excitement on the field.

Unfortunately, Arnold has copped the brunt of the criticism for the lacklustre displays since the World Cup. Failing to qualify for the next World Cup would be a huge setback for Australian football.

While there was plenty of backlash after the result, the Socceroos can still go on a run and qualify directly out of their group. Australia will host China in a pivotal clash at home in Adelaide on October 10, before playing Japan away five days later. “There are eight (group) games to go, and second spot (Saudi Arabia) is on four points at the moment, so it’s not like it’s a disaster, but I’ve got to go home and do a lot of thinking,” Arnold said.