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Socceroos World Cup qualifiers postponed

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10th March, 2020
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With the Socceroos facing their busiest calendar year, the decision to postpone World Cup qualifiers due to the coronavirus outbreak creates a fixture headache.

The Socceroos’ packed 2020 fixture schedule just got a lot busier with the decision to postpone upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

FIFA and the AFC announced on Monday evening it was postponing March and June qualifiers across Asia due to the coronavirus outbreak.

It means Australia’s matches against Kuwait and Nepal in March, as well as June home games against Taiwan and Jordan, will now be played at a later date.

With the Socceroos set to play at this year’s Copa America and the Olyroos qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, Australia’s international football calendar is one of the busiest in its history.

Monday’s decision will provide some respite for Graham Arnold, given he was facing a short turnaround between June’s qualifiers and their opening Copa America fixture against Uruguay on June 13 (local time) in Cordoba.

However, Australia’s commitment to both the South American continental championship and Olympics leaves little room for the postponed matches to be rescheduled.

If the coronavirus situation has been resolved by the middle of the year, Australia could play their postponed qualifiers in July or August but it would leave playing talent spread across multiple fronts.

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Waiting until FIFA windows in October or November will mean the third stage of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not get underway until March 2021.

FIFA’s decision to postpone the qualifiers did include a provision for matches to be played if both nations agreed and health and safety standards were met.

In a statement released on Tuesday, however, the FFA ruled out seeking any provision to have their March or June qualifiers played as scheduled.

“Given FFA’s intent to put the health and welfare of all players, coaches, staff, and fans first, FFA will not to pursue qualification matches in March or June 2020, and will instead consider possible alternate activity options for the Socceroos in the respective windows over the coming days and weeks,” the statement read.

The March 26 clash against Kuwait at HBF Stadium was set to be Australia’s first appearance in Perth since 2016 and FFA said it was committed to keeping the rescheduled match in Western Australia.

© AAP

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