“The research that I’ve done and presented to the [FFA] board and presented to the A-League owners shows that since 1992 – when the Olympics became a U23 competition –it’s produced six or seven top Socceroos.

“[Mark] Bresciano and [Vince] Grella didn’t play for the Socceroos until they were Olympians. It’s the next phase in the journey for these kids to become Socceroos.

“I truly believe from what I’ve seen – and that’s why I took the job, to work and get to know them mentally – I believe that by the end of 2020 there will be five kids that will be part of the Socceroos squad."

Notable for their inclusion in Arnold’s squad is Melbourne City’s Connor Metcalfe and Adelaide United’s Al Hassan Toure.

Both players burst onto the scene thanks to standout performances for their respective clubs during the FFA Cup and have continued their momentum into the 2019/20 A-League season – Metcalfe starting seven games for City and Toure also starting seven for Adelaide.

While opportunities have mostly been frustratingly rare for young Australians in recent years, they represent a promising, but still nascent, trend of young players receiving minutes in 2019/20.

It’s something that Arnold has noted, and appreciates, but he still says that more than can be done.

“I’ve seen some great performances from young Australians that are doing very well, he said” “Sometimes, it’s funny, sometimes when [A-League] clubs play the young Australians they win over the foreigners.

“But it’s not about young boys playing in the A-League. They play in the A-League if they’re good enough.

“If they’re not good enough, give them somewhere to play.

“For me, what needs to happen as quickly as possible, to start a new wave for the junior players in Australia, to help them fulfil their dreams and give them the journey in life, is that a reserve grade competition has to happen ASAP.

“Because still, there are too many kids sitting in the grandstands in suits watching games.

“And the NYL? A competition with only nine NYL games is nowhere near enough.”

Australia will begin their AFC U23 Championship campaign against Iraq on January 8 before moving onto group games against Thailand and Bahrain.

A minimum third-place finish at the tournament is required to secure qualification for Tokyo 2020.