Australia’s clash against Saudi Arabia next month is likely to be the Socceroos’ first on Australian soil in over two years with reports emerging Saudi Arabia indicating that they have received confirmation that this match will take place at CommBank Stadium on the 11th of November.
Prominent Saudi-Arabian outlet Al-Riyadia state that the Saudi national team will depart on the 5th of November, and will be subject to precautionary measures in line with Australia which includes PCR testing and only leaving the team hotel for training and match-day purposes.
Saudi Arabia currently sit on top of Group B in the AFC third round of World Cup Qualifiers with 12 points, whereas Australia have nine points.
The Green Falcons are coming off the back of a thrilling 3-2 victory against China and an integral 1-0 win against Japan in the recent international window, where both fixtures were played at home.
Following the tie against Australia, they face Vietnam on the 16th of November.
Socceroos set for homecoming next month against Saudi Arabia
According to a match listing on the AFC’s website, the Socceroos are set to take on Saudi Arabia in a vital World Cup Qualifier on the 11th of November at 8:05pm AEST.
Following Australia’s loss to Japan two weeks ago, in his post match comments Graham Arnold stated that playing on home soil with fans in attendance was key for a lift for the latter stage of World Cup qualifying.
“I just really am reaching out to the NSW government and really appealing to them to help us on this journey on our World Cup pathway” Arnold said.
“I haven’t been home for six months, but now that NSW have vaccinated 80 per cent plus, we are still four weeks away from this game, (I really hope) that they help us by allowing fans into the stadium.
“We have seen (the difference it makes) in the UK and around the world where it is 80 per cent vaccinated and everyone has got full crowds again.”
The Matildas this past week took on Brazil in a two-match friendly series with strict bio-security measures imposed, with the Socceroos fixture against Saudi Arabia likely to adopt similar protocols.
Speaking last month, FFA CEO James Johnson said:
“We have made it our priority to bring our national teams home for international football so this is a phenomenal outcome for Australian football and one which we have been working tirelessly towards behind the scenes with both the Federal and NSW Government for a considerable amount of time now and appreciate the efforts of the NSW Government in particular.
“Our team at Football Australia put together a submission based on global best practice, focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of players and staff, which has been accepted by the NSW Government and aligns nicely with its roadmap to opening up.”
The NSW Government earlier this month announced that fully vaccinated Australian citizens are allowed to return home and bypass quarantine, a big boost for Australian national sporting teams.
Article originally published as: Socceroos set for homecoming next month against Saudi Arabia
