In a huge coup for football fans in Adelaide, the Socceroos will host Tajikistan at the Adelaide Oval in their crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match next March.
While Australia currently sit on top of Group B in the second round of qualification, a win in the upcoming fixture against Tajikistan would push them into a much stronger position on the road to Russia, meaning at worst they would only need a draw to move into the third-round of qualification when they play their final match against Jordan, the team who has handed them their only defeat in the qualifying campaign so far.
The venue for that potentially decisive match, which will be against Jordan and held on the 28th of March – just four days after the match against Tajikistan is still yet to be decided by Football Federation Australia (FFA).
It has been 11 years since the Socceroos have played a match at the Adelaide Oval, which came during the very early stages of their successful 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said the match in Adelaide continued the recent trend of taking the current Asian Champions to all corners of Australia.
“The Socceroos represent all Australians so it is important we give fans from all over the country the opportunity to watch the team play these World Cup Qualifiers,” he said.
“South Australia has a very rich football history and it’s tremendous news we are playing Tajikistan in Adelaide. This is a very important match for us so I encourage fans to get behind the Socceroos and get a ticket to what will be a great occasion.”
General tickets for the game will be available on Wednesday from 11am (AEDT).
Martyn50
Guest
A square type game on an oval ground.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Good plan, except for the minor detail that in March Amman is slightly colder and wetter than Hobart.
Pauly
Guest
Play the Jordan game at North Hobart Oval. Pray that it's a cold, miserable day as far removed from the Middle East as possible.
Pauly
Guest
Hindmarsh would be a more appropriate venue for the Tajikistan game. Fans virtually on top of the action. Stands named after former Socceroos, not icons of rival sports. And sufficient for the expected turnout. You won't get 50,000 people interested in a match against a country few have even heard of.
marron
Roar Guru
Or maybe the- lands! Or the -a's! A haha haha..... sigh.
In brief
Guest
I feel like this is an opportunity lost. Why not play all the Stans in a round robin? - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan? Come on FFA, let's get creative.
Banned
Guest
There staging a world cup in Qatar so Adelaide is not that crazy a prospect. The city has a great history supporting soccer. Really they should be getting the bigger games now with the Oval being developed to hold 50k.
marcel
Guest
Hopefully tomorrow FFA will be firing off an email reminding them of minimum acceptable pitch standards
marron
Roar Guru
Well the proof of that will be in the pricing.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
It is great to see the Socceroos moving about the country and playing an important role in generating enthusiasm for the game. If we want people to invest in the Socceroos then we need the Socceroos to invest in the people. It is good to see that the FFA grasps this concept.
Mon the vuk
Guest
Adelaide Ival is a complete dump for football. Ffa should be telling them and WA that if they want big games, then they need an appropriate stadium. Otherwise it's all to easy for us to keep the games on the east coast.