REVEALED: Graham Arnold lost his VOICE during 1-0 defeat by England as Rene Meulensteen insists Socceroos coach is 'proud' of his side's spirited performance
- Socceroos held their own against England, losing 1-0
- Coach Graham Arnold was chuffed with his team's drive
- Australia next play New Zealand on October 18 at Brentford
Graham Arnold took on 81,116 fans in a shouting match at Wembley and came out second best, with Rene Meulensteen deputising for the Socceroos coach after he lost his voice during Australia's 1-0 defeat by England.
Meulensteen said he warned Arnold not to put his vocal chords at risk, but the passionate Australian was unable to help himself as he motivated his brave underdogs at the home of football.
'I tried to warn him. I said 'we are in a stadium with more than 80,000 people here, nobody will hear you!' But that is his passion,' Meulensteen said.
'Arnie is so passionate about Australian football, about young players and the national team. He paid the price you could say.'
The assistant coach reflected that the Socceroos' battling performance – in which they created a handful of glorious opportunities to stun the Three Lions - made himself and Arnold 'proud' and was an indication of just how far the team has come.
![Socceroos boss Graham Arnold took on 81,116 fans in a shouting match at Wembley - and came out second best](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/13/23/76541335-12629539-image-m-11_1697236765879.jpg)
Socceroos boss Graham Arnold took on 81,116 fans in a shouting match at Wembley - and came out second best
![England won the friendly 1-0, but Australia won plenty of admirers for their tenacity from the opening whistle](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/13/23/76541343-12629539-image-m-13_1697236817404.jpg)
England won the friendly 1-0, but Australia won plenty of admirers for their tenacity from the opening whistle
![Jordan Bos looked lively for Australia (pictured right, with England's Kieran Trippier)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/13/23/76541317-12629539-image-m-15_1697236871376.jpg)
Jordan Bos looked lively for Australia (pictured right, with England's Kieran Trippier)
When asked if the 1-0 defeat was 'an opportunity missed', Meulensteen said: 'Yeah, I think so.
'Having said that, I think we can be very proud of this performance. Sometimes in football you play games and the results are not for you and you try to look for the causes but this is one of those losses where you can be really proud.
'We played against a very strong nation. They can field two world class teams, without a shadow of a doubt. If you look at the leagues and clubs they play at, then see where we are coming from, what we've done over the past 12 months, this was by far the best performance.
'We were very well organised, very well structured, the players played with courage and bravery and with a bit of more luck we could have scored maybe two or more goals.'
Meulensteen added that the young Socceroos squad – made up of hugely inexperienced players at the top level – will learn plenty from their inspired performance in North West London.
'You have to give those boys enormous credit,' he continued. 'The bravery that they have and I think it's the mentality that stands out as an Australian nation. We can go toe to toe with all the big nations.
'We just need to try to find that extra bit of quality to really put them to the sword and that is what we are looking for.
'We keep trying to find new young players to bring, to keep developing and growing. We learnt a lot, for sure.'