Source: worldsoccertalk.com --- Wednesday, October 04, 2017
Malacca (Malaysia) (AFP) – Veteran forward Tim Cahill on Wednesday said Australia were relishing the “cut-throat” challenge of beating Syria over two legs as they look to reach next year’s World Cup via the nerve-jangling play-offs. Australia’s record goal-scorer said the pre-match favourites would look to dictate play on Thursday in steamy Malacca, Malaysia, venue for Syria’s ‘home’ tie due to their country’s ongoing civil war. The winner of the two-legged play-off, which concludes in Sydney on Tuesday, will face the fourth-placed CONCACAF federation side — currently the United States — for a berth at Russia 2018. “It’s the cut-throat time where if we don’t win over these two games, you’re out,” Cahill told reporters at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Krubong. “Yes, you want to go through in the group but you also understand how difficult it is to qualify. And now how ruthless this qualifying stage can be for us. “We really want to dictate the game tomorrow and pretty much stay the same that we have in every game: we want to dominate the ball, and we want to win and then also take them back to Australia in a few days and finish the job off properly.” Australia haven’t been in a similar position since 2005, when under Guus Hiddink they edged Uruguay on penalties to qualify for their first World Cup since 1974. Since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, they have waltzed through their last two qualifying campaigns but the ...
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