Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou remains confident Australia can progress past Syria despite only managing a 1-1 draw in the away leg on Thursday night.
Australia opened the scoring through Robbie Kruse on 40 minutes, with Postecoglou feeling they were in control.
However, the Socceroos came under pressure in the final half hour, which eventually told with a “dubious” Omar Al Somah penalty proving the leveler on 85 minutes.
Australia will need to bounce back, with the return leg in Sydney on Tuesday night.
“We’re always confident,” Postecoglou told Fox Sports. “We’ll go hard at home.
“We’ve got some fresh legs to throw in as well, which I’m sure will help.
GOAL @Socceroos! Robbie Kruse breaks the deadlock and puts Australia in front. #SYRvAUS #WCQ #9WWOS pic.twitter.com/ehZdKMnlJO
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) October 5, 2017
“Our home form has been excellent for a long time now and we’ll look to continue that.”
Postecoglou refused to offer up any insights into his thoughts on selection for Tuesday’s clash.
Tom Rogic was used as a 83rd minute substitute and is likely to come into calculations, while James Troisi, Jackson Irvine, Tim Cahill, Brad Smith and Craig Goodwin didn’t play.
“We’ve got Tommy, we’ve got James Troisi, Mass (Luongo), Jackson Irvine,” Postecoglou said.
“Even guys like Smithy or Craig Goodwin, we’ve got some guys who can come in and make an impact.
“The toll wasn’t anything significant so they’ll be fresh for Tuesday.”
It doesn't get that much more unlucky for Juric. 😬 #SYRvAUS #WCQ #9WWOS pic.twitter.com/HjdPA28ip6
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) October 5, 2017
Postecoglou offered up his assessment of Thursday’s draw.
“I thought first half and probably the first 15 minutes of the second half we were good,” he said.
“We were solid defensively, created some good opportunities, we hit the post twice to go two up, that nearly knocked the stuffing out of them.
“They got in to the game a bit towards the back-end. We tired and we ended up getting a decision against us.”
Postecoglou labeled the penalty decision against Mathew Leckie as “dubious”.
“I thought we defended really well and really strongly… when you defend like that, it’s disappointing when you do finally concede one, it comes from a dubious decision,” Postecoglou said.
“I don’t have the hindsight, maybe I’m wrong, but when a guy is winning a ball clearly in the air, I’m a bit baffled. It is what it is.”
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