Socceroos coach Graham Arnold takes swipe at Denmark with astonishing claim about ‘the note’

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has taken a not so veiled swipe at Denmark, the team Australia famously beat to qualify for the round of 16.

Now written in Aussie folklore, Arnold got his hands on a Denmark team note that had been tossed on the ground during the enthralling encounter, with instructions about changing the formation to have two strikers.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: New footage of ‘the note’ falling into the wrong hands.

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New footage has emerged of the moment Australian striker Mitch Duke picked up the discarded note from the pitch and handed it to Arnold, but the Socceroos boss has now made an astonishing claim.

When Arnold got his hands on the note, he instantly told Bailey Wright to start warming up, who came on to give Australia a fifth defender and give them a 5-4-1 formation.

But Arnold has revealed he didn’t even look at the note, while also quipping it said a lot about the Danes’ preparation.

“He handed it to me and I didn’t even look at it. I handed it back. I was just focused on the substitution,” Arnold said.

“I knew when Bailey Wright came on that we had to go to a back five. I always have a plan A, B, C and D for every occasion if you’re down 1-0 or up 1-0.”

“In that little way it showed me they didn’t have a plan ready. It was an off-the-cuff thing — if they’re having to send notes out to players it’s not pre-planned beforehand.”

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Now the Aussies are facing a sudden-death showdown against Argentina, but Arnold says there are three things in the Socceroos’ favour, including having just two days to ponder their round of 16 clash against Lionel Messi’s team.

“I do believe the short turnaround is an advantage for us,” Arnold said.

“Because we don’t sit for five days wondering about the opposition or Argentina.”

Arnold knows exactly what to expect from Argentina in their knockout fixture on Saturday night (6am AEDT Sunday) in Qatar.

“They play two ways,” he said.

“Slow, to try and make you relax.

“But when you relax, that’s when they hit you.

“We have got to make sure that we’re on the whole time.”

Arnold also believes Australia’s footballers have always risen to the challenge of playing Argentina.

“Playing against that type of talent, that name resonates right across the world as a football nation,” he said.

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“It’s inspiring for Australia to play against them.

“I believe you’re going to see the best ... of every player on the pitch for Australia because of who we’re playing against.

“We have had a few games now against Argentina.

“We beat them in 1988, 4-1 in the Gold Cup in Australia.

“And also with the Olympic team, we beat them only last year, 2-0.

“I just think that Argentina bring the best out of Australia and performances every time against Argentina have been very strong and very good.”

Arnold was, perhaps deliberately, being selective with his memory.

The 1988 victory is the only time the Socceroos have defeated Argentina in seven attempts - the others resulted in five losses and a draw.

But he did play in the 1988 triumph. And also in the two-legged World Cup qualifiers of 1993 which the Australians lost 1-2 on aggregate.

“We weren’t expecting to play Argentina in those World Cup qualifiers,” Arnold said.

“They got beat 5-1 at home in Buenos Aires by Colombia ... Maradona had retired and he’d put on a lot of weight.

“The fans, from the last five, 10 minutes of the (Colombia) game, were calling and singing for him to come back.”

Maradona answered the call and returned for the cup qualifiers against the Socceroos.

“He lost a lot of weight in six weeks,” Arnold said.

“I don’t think he had that much of an influence, in the first game he set up the goal for (Abel) Balbo in Sydney.

“You just couldn’t get near him to try and kick him, he was that smart.

“He’s such a great footballer and it’s one of my great memories to say that I played against him.”

- with AAP