Australia will travel far and wide in their bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after having been drawn in Group B of Asian qualification for the global showpiece in Russia.
Socceroos will play home and away ties against Jordan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh as they seek to build on their Asian Cup success earlier this year by booking a ticket to a fourth straight finals.
An element of the unknown awaits Ange Postecoglou’s side, having never faced Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh in a competitive international fixture, and only met Jordan twice, winning once and losing once.
The Football teams, ranked 63 in the world by FIFA, will start the campaign as firm favourites to progress; their nearest rivals in terms of world rankings are Jordan, placed 4o spots below, and none of Australia’s group rivals feature in the top 100.
“The draw is certainly an interesting one and throws up some games against unfamiliar countries but the first phase of qualifying is about us and making sure we maintain our high standards on and off the field,” Postecoglou said.
“Over the past 18 months we have taken great pride in being the best we can be on and off the field and we will face some logistical and footballing challenges but we’ll continue to work hard to make sure we are ready for whatever challenges we face.
“We now have to prepare for Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Tajikstan and Jordan and continue our journey. We have another eight international matches to continue to give the core of the squad more experience while offering some opportunities to younger players to ensure we build depth.”
Australia will kick off their campaign away in Kyrgyzstan on 16 June before playing their first home match in Perth against Bangladesh on 3 September.
Just the group winner is guaranteed a place in the final round of qualification for the World Cup – and by default a spot in the 2019 Asian Cup finals too – with the four best runners-up from the eight groups also progressing.
As one of the continent’s top sides, Australia were in pot one and therefore unable to be drawn with the likes of fellow heavyweights Japan, South Korea or Iran. They could have faced North Korea, Oman or Kuwait however, but managed to come away from the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur with a relatively straightforward group.
International windows will be used to play the fixtures until March 2016.
AFP
