Syria news

The skipper appears to have failed in his recovery from injury and will be sorely missed in the heart of the Socceroos midfield

The 30-year-old Ukrainian-born attacker returns to the national team setup after a four-year absence, while the skipper comes back from injury

After rumours it could be played in the Middle East, the south-east Asian nation has been announced as host for the first leg of the AFC playoff

The Middle-Eastern nation have played their previous qualifiers in Malaysia but look set to make things more difficult for the green-and-gold

Sydney's premier venue will host the Socceroos' home leg of their playoff against the war-ravaged Middle East nation for a spot in Russia

The war-torn nation are in pole position to continue a fairytale story that could see them play a two-legged tie against the green-and-gold

Malaysia suffered a 1-2 reverse to higher ranked Syria but Vingada is taking plenty of heart from the fighting performance shown by his players

Vingada have more work on his hands as his Malaysia side lost Syria after lapses in concentration late in the game

Malaysia's Asian Cup qualifying match against Hong Kong at home will be held outside of Klang Valley and Johor, according to the Malaysian FA.

Grown men, ladies and gentlemen

Sometimes it hurts being a hero. Sometimes a lot.

Coincidentally, all six of the top-three teams in Groups A and B of the qualifiers will play away to a bottom-three side in this round.