Socceroos to meet China in Qatar

World Cup host Qatar will stage the Socceroos’ qualifier against China next month.

Football Australia officials are in advanced talks with their Qatari counterparts, with confirmation expected this week that Qatar’s capital city Doha will be the venue for the Socceroos’ 2022 World Cup qualifier against China on September 2.

The match is a “home” game for the Socceroos, who have been forced to take the game abroad after FA could not get the necessary player quarantine and travel bubble exemptions from governments to allow the qualifier to take place at Sydney’s Bankwest Stadium, as had been scheduled.

Australia’s September 7 qualifier against Vietnam is set to go ahead, as scheduled, in Hanoi.

FA officials are still hopeful of being able to play home qualifiers in October and November in Australia.

Bankwest Stadium is scheduled to host the Socceroos’ matches against Oman (October 7) and Saudi Arabia (November 11).

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is set to name his latest squad next week. Picture: Masashi Hara/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

“It will be our strong preference to host these matches in Australia,” a FA spokesman said.

“We will continue to work with the federal and state governments about the opportunity to host matches in Australia for both the Socceroos and Matildas in the coming months.

“We will also be led by the federal government and state governments on hosting matches in Australia, and we strongly support government advice that mass vaccinations is our pathway out of Covid-19.”

The Socceroos squad for the qualifiers against China and Vietnam is set to be announced late next week.

Coach Graham Arnold, currently in Dubai, said: I can’t wait to get them back together in the camp. Nothing worries me one bit about playing away from home.

“We’ve got a good number of very good players and I’m very positive about what lies ahead.

“I’ll be going into those two games very positive. I expect six points from the first two games, and then we’re on our journey, on our way.”

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