Toad infestation interrupts Socceroos preparations

Disruption and difficulties have plagued the Socceroos qualification campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and it shows no sign of getting any easier with the team forced to train on a pitch infested with toads ahead of Tuesday night’s clash against Vietnam in Hanoi.

Socceroos warm-up during a training session in Hanoi Source: Football Australia

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While problematic pitches and extreme weather are nothing new for the Aussies, who have faced their fair share of below-par fields across Asia, taking on a swarm of toads who had taken over their training pitch was a new one for Graham Arnold and his squad.

While the second clash of the third round of world cup qualifying will take place at the amphibian free My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Socceroos boss Graham Arnold revealed they enjoyed the unexpected audience during training.

“We trained on a training pitch last night, it was a great experience, there were frogs on the pitch,” Arnold said.

“They were great, cheered the boys up. It was an experience the boys hadn’t had before. It was Beautiful.”

Despite the toads, it was all down to business for the Socceroos who will be looking to build on their 3-0 win against China last week in Doha, which moved them to the top of Group B in the AFC World Cup preliminaries.

That win came off the back of a run of four victories in stifling heat and humidity in Kuwait during June that swept the Australians into this phase of the competition and one step closer to a fifth consecutive World Cup appearance.

Arnold is pushing the team to build on their incredible run of results and notch an incredible 10th straight victory with a win against Vietnam.

"It's a World Cup qualifier, I've got to put my best team out there that I feel is ready to go out on the pitch and perform at its best," Arnold said.

"Also, yes, it was a comprehensive win against China, but I expect us to improve in every facet in the game tomorrow night.

"Most important thing is the boys are physically and mentally very, very good. I expect a great performance."

The Australians have won nine World Cup qualifiers in a row and take on a Vietnam side that led against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Thursday before Do Duy Manh's red card swung the game in favour of the hosts, who went on to notch up a 3-1 victory.

Vietnam, one of the rising nations in Asian football, are making their first appearance at this stage of World Cup qualifying.