ANZ Stadium to host Socceroos’ World Cup tie with Syria as road to Russia goes via play-offs

SYDNEY will host the Socceroos’ crucial World Cup qualifier with Syria next month, as Australia’s hopes of making it to Russia 2018 come down to a series of play-offs.

Socceroos striker Tomi Juric has his shot deflected by Thai defender Adison Promrak on Tuesday night

SYDNEY will host the Socceroos’ crucial World Cup qualifier with Syria next month, as Australia’s hopes of making it to Russia 2018 come down to a fraught series of play-offs.

The Daily Telegraph can confirm that ANZ Stadium has secured the rights to the second leg of the play-off with Syria.

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Socceroos striker Tomi Juric has his shot deflected by Thai defender Adison Promrak on Tuesday night.

The Socceroos will play Syria away – most likely in Malaysia – on October 5, before rushing back to Australia for the second leg on October 10.

In a double coup for Sydney, ANZ Stadium has also been locked in as the venue for the home-playoff against a CONCACF qualifier should Syria be overcome.

The NSW Government signed a five-year deal in 2016 to host a certain number of Socceroos and Matildas games, but it’s believed that potential play-offs were not included.

Though ANZ Stadium will host the NRL grand final on October 1, nine days before the Syria game, it is likely to have just one other finals game before that – meaning just two games in a period of five weeks from the end of the NRL regular season.

Meanwhile Socceroos officials are urgently awaiting details of where the away leg will be, after having only “verbal confirmation” so far that their Syrian counterparts expect to host the game in Malaysia.

Forced by the civil war in Syria to play home matches on neutral territory, the Qasioun Eagles chose Oman for their base in the first round of qualifying.

But their last five games have been played in Malaysia, at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman stadium and more recently the Hang Jebat venue some three hours from the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Both are seen as poor-quality venues, while Hang Jebat is in an area lacking hotels of the sort that the Syrian FA are obliged to book for the Socceroos.

Finding suitable training facilities for the Australians may also prove problematic, with the option of training elsewhere and then flying in the day beforehand likely to be considered.

One local option could be Johor Darul Ta’zim F.C, the league champions whose training facilities are brand new and whose sporting director is former FFA assistant technical director Alistair Edwards.