https://bitedge.com/blog/who-are-the-syrian-national-soccer-team/As you all know Australia are about to play Syria in a 2-leg playoff to keep our WC dreams alive. Most articles about them concentrate on politics more than football so I did a bit of basic research from the football perspective. I started by checking where the players play their club football and comparing that with the Australian team. All but 1 of Syria’s 29-man squad play in Syria and the surrounding countries. The 1 exception plays in China. Syria has 2 players playing in countries whose national team is likely to make the World Cup (Saudi Arabia). Another fun football fact is that they would have been eliminated if they had not scored decisive goals in injury time in 4 of their last 5 World Cup qualification games! Full details in the post. This combined with Syria having no home game and Australia having 2nd leg home advantage makes me confident in the Socceroos chances. However, the worst mistake anyone can make is underestimating the opponent.
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