MALACCA: A qualifying campaign that has defied civil war and internal splits has brought Syria within sight of a miraculous World Cup berth — if they can overcome Asian champions Australia.

Syria were given little chance of making an impact in Asia’s qualifiers but after reaching the regional play-offs, they stand four games away from Russia 2018.

Playing their “home” fixtures in Malaysia because of their country’s civil war, Syria face Australia in Malacca on Thursday, before the return leg in Sydney next Tuesday.

The winners go into a two-legged clash with the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF federation — currently the United States.

On their way to Thursday’s game in Malacca, Syria have scrapped to hard-fought draws against heavyweights South Korea and Iran, and wins over China, Uzbekistan and Qatar.

“It’s a critical match on Thursday and it’s important for our ambitions and the dreams of millions of Syrians,” said Syria team manager Fadi Al Dabbas.

“The result will be important ahead of the second leg. We have got past the first rounds of qualifying and we have two decisive matches, but we have a lot of confidence in our players.”

Just as the nation has been driven by war and either support or opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad, the national team has also been split. Some players skipped important qualifiers until recently, but things seem to be getting better.

Firas Al Khatib had been absent from the team until earlier this year when he returned along with Omar al-Soma. Neither player has given their reasons as to why their exile ended except to say it’s related to sports rather than politics.

Syria, ranked 75th, have never reached the World Cup before and were regarded as a long shot at the start of the third round of qualification, and only two goals from the first seven games seemed to confirm that perception.

But after starting out as hard to beat and defensive, the Syrian team became more attacking.

The return of al-Soma and Al Khatib — absent since voicing their support for the rebels fighting Assad’s forces — made a difference, giving Syria one of the most dangerous forward lines in Asia. Together, they have scored seven goals in the final three games.

Two of those goals came in the make-or-break last game against Group ‘A’ winners Iran in Tehran, where al-Soma scored deep in injury time to secure a 2-2 draw against a lineup that hadn’t conceded any goals in the previous nine games in qualification.

That result was enough to secure the match against Australia, who finished behind Saudi Arabia on goal difference.

Players, with “Syria” rather than names emblazoned across the back of their red jerseys, sank to their knees on the turf in Tehran to celebrate.

In Syria, thousands of dancing fans filtered onto the streets of Damascus chanting “Syria” and waving the country’s flags.

But while Syrians were delighted to reach the playoff stage, Australia weren’t.

The Asian Cup champions have qualified for the last three World Cups and coach Ange Postecoglou has come under heavy criticism for not ensuring an automatic spot in Russia despite only one loss in the qualifying campaign.

“I have not lost [faith] in what I do,” Postecoglou said as he prepared this week to face Syria. “We watched all their qualifying games. We know what they bring to it.

“It’s match play against an opponent over two games knowing that it’s do-or-die scenario. They managed to score goals late in games to get themselves results and obviously they are hard to break down.”

Syria midfielder Mohammed Zaher Midani was quoted as saying on the Asian Football Confederation’s website that his team would have the ingredients to beat the higher-profile Socceroos.

“Australia may have many prominent players who are known for their individual talents, but we have the enormous potential that comes from performing as a group, as well as the individual skills of our players,” Midani said. “And we have a huge motivation which is to make the Syrian people happy.”

The stifling conditions in Malacca should also present little barrier to their performance given Syria have won two and drawn three of their five games played there so far in qualifying for Russia 2018.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Australia midfielder Massimo Luongo told reporters. “It’ll probably be a little bit tense. A little bit more nerve wracking knowing there’s a lot riding on these games. We’re not playing for points, you can’t make up the points later on. So it’s do-or-die stuff.”

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2017