Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, some teams have had to choose overseas courts as their home courts. Some others are still playing in their hometown, but in stadiums with no spectators or in very small numbers. Australia is the team most affected. Due to regulations on quarantine and travel, the team from the land of the poor has played 11/12 matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers away.
That did not greatly affect Graham Arnold and his team, as they have a streak of 11 consecutive wins. But this record was broken on October 12, when Australia lost 1-2 in Japan. The Socceroos hope fans will give them a big advantage, to win against Saudi Arabia, in the key match on November 11.
This match will be held at Western Sydney Stadium, marking a milestone of nearly 2 years, the Australian team will only play at home, in front of home spectators. Arnold's team currently has 9 points, ranking 2nd in Group B after Saudi Arabia (12 points). Therefore, a victory against the West Asian team will open up the opportunity for Australia to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
"The 12th player of the Australian team is the fans and we need a stadium full of spectators, to support the players who have contributed a lot to Australian football. The fans will help us get through the limit and I call on everyone in Australia to come to the stadium because it will be a great night," said coach Graham Arnold.
After a series of 4 consecutive losses, the Vietnam team will look for the first points when playing at home against Japan (November 11) and Saudi Arabia (November 16). This is an opportunity for Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team to earn their first points in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, especially when more than 12,000 fans came to My Dinh Stadium to cheer.
"The Japanese team is very strong. But the Vietnamese team will play at home and hopefully there will be many spectators there to support us. That will be a great motivation for us. After the match against Japan, the Vietnam team will meet Saudi Arabia. We hope to achieve the first points, achieve the target, and meet the expectations of fans," Quang Hai shared.
Also in Group B, the Chinese team admitted that they had lost a big advantage, when they could not play their 2 matches at a football field in Taizhou, in front of a large audience. According to the schedule, Li Tie and his team will meet Oman (November 11) and Australia (November 16). The Chinese team had to return to the UAE, borrowing Sharjah Stadium as their home stadium to play against these two opponents.
In Group A, the Korean team is currently in 2nd place in the group with 8 points, after Iran (10 points). In the match on November 11, Paulo Bento's team will host the UAE at home. The match is expected to take place at Goyang Stadium and will have more than 35,000 spectators attending. This is the first time Son Heung-min and his teammates have played on a large stadium with enough spectators in nearly 2 years, when the limitations have been loosen.
"I talked to my teammates about finally being able to play in front of the fans. We all have more motivation to bring good things to them. The Korean team will try to bring a dedicated, beautiful match to the fans of the team," Hwang Hee-chan shared with Yonhap.
