Graham Arnold, manager of Australia, finished his contract with Football Australia after the "Socceroos" lost to Argentina 2-1 in the Round of 16 game at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Saturday and exited the tournament.

As the first manager since Guus Hiddink in 2006 to lead Australia to advance to the World Cup knockout stage, Arnold's performance in the position is satisfying, if not impressive. However, he was being evasive when asked if he will return.

"I haven't thought about the future. My contract is up and I just want to go away, have a holiday, have a break and see what happens," Arnold said after the game. "I've worked extremely hard in this campaign, I haven't even thought about it – I need a break, a rest and no doubt I'll have some good discussions with the organization."

It will be up to Arnold himself as well as Football Australia's chief football officer Ernie Merrick, performance director Paddy Steinfort, CEO James Johnson and other board members to decide if the national team will keep the 59-year-old or find a new manager. Despite the success in Qatar, the federation was critical of him when Australia lost to Japan in the qualification game at home and nearly missed the World Cup.

"The dust will settle on everything here and he's been a huge part of everything that we've done here. The [federation] and Arnie will do what's best for them. They'll make those decisions. But as players, we're just happy that we got to share this experience all the way through," midfielder Jackson Irvine said.

"He's worked with the Olyroos boys and for us older boys, you'd want him to stick around. He's done it tough, as we all have, so at the end of the day I think he wants to have a holiday, he did say that," striker Jamie Maclaren said. "So, who knows what his future lies in? But it's really in the FA's hands, and if Arnie wants to stick around."