Now the tables have turned, and with A-League clubs becoming a conveyer belt of international talent, the confluence of an international break – where Australia play Japan, and New Zealand play China and Thailand, in addition to a youth tournament (Australia's under-23 side plays Brazil, China and South Korea) – has crippled the domestic competition. Missing in action: Sydney FC star Marc Janko. Credit:Daniel Munoz Arnold – who has occupied coaching positions at the club, the Socceroos and the Olyroos – has long-championed FIFA date breaks and said the predicament meant the FFA needed to follow global protocol. "I've been saying it for five years but nobody has listened," he told Fairfax Media. "Maybe now they will. In fact, I did a document in 2006 about aligning the A-League with FIFA dates. Now I feel sorry for [Socceroos coach] Ange [Postecoglou] and sorry for [under-23 coach] Aurelio [Vidmar]. They've got to prepare their teams properly, so they need the players. It's simple – you just have to have a break, or you let teams play that aren't affected. "If anything, instead of playing these FFA Cup matches this week, we could have at least minimised the damage by having them play this weekend while the A-League was on a week off."

Arnold said he sympathised with Victory coach Kevin Muscat this week after Sydney were hit particularly hard in round one. "He's missing six this week, just as we copped it in the first week, so I know what that's like – and we're missing three again this time," he said. "It's tough when you've only got 23 players. It should be that if there's three or more selected from your first team, you can postpone the game. There's going to be nine players missing this weekend and that is just unacceptable. "One of the players said to me that he felt like he was being punished playing for the national team because they miss out on their club games." The Sky Blues would have been even worse hit had Ali Abbas been called up for the Gulf Cup of Nations. However, with only half the tournament protected by the FIFA calendar, Sydney could have recalled the Iraqi midfielder. As such, coach Hakeem Shaker left him out. The Big Blue is set to be one of the highest-rating A-League matches. SBS has permission to broadcast the match live on free-to-air, apart from the Fox Sports broadcast. Consequently, a cumulative figure of up to 500,000 viewers has been touted.

Arnold said resting for FIFA dates was as much about showing respect to the national sides as it was to the A-League. "My mission is to get as many young Australian players into the national team and to develop them," he said. "That's the pinnacle for these players. But the conflict that exists is only going to get worse and worse if we don't put a stop to it." Wellington Phoenix will have six of their 23-man squad missing after being called up for New Zealand. Louis Fenton and Tom Doyle were also originally named but had to pull out due to injury. The Phoenix now have to dig deep into their youth stocks to field a full squad for their clash with Adelaide United. By contrast, Adelaide have only one missing player – reserve goalkeeper John Hall. Perth Glory will lose four players, and Brisbane Roar three.

Melbourne will miss Stefan Mauk and Aaron Mooy, and the Newcastle Jets lose Andrew Hoole. Missing in action: A-League's absent stars Melbourne Victory Mark Milligan (Australia)

Kosta Barbarouses (NZ)

Daniel Georgievski (Macedonia)

Scott Galloway (Australia U23)

Jason Geria (Australia U23)

Connor Pain (Australia U23) Sydney FC

Terry Antonis (Originally selected for Australia, but ruled out due to injury)

Marc Janko (Austria)

Corey Gameiro (Australia U23) Wellington Phoenix Oliver Sail, Michael Boxall,Michael McGlinchey, Jeremy Brockie, Tyler Boyd, Joel Stevens (all NZ). Brisbane Roar Matt McKay (Australia), Corey Brown, James Donachie (both Australia U23)

Perth Glory Mitch Nichols (Australia), Jack Duncan, Jamie Maclaren, Riley Woodcock (all Australia U23) Adelaide United John Hall (Australia U23) Newcastle Jets

Andrew Hoole (Australia under-23) Melbourne City Aaron Mooy (Australia), Stefan Mauk (Australia U23) Central Coast Mariners Storm Roux (NZ)