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'Nothing is impossible' as war-torn Syria eye 2018 World Cup berth

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 tomorrow, 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 tomorrow's game in Malacca, Syria have scrapped to hard-fought draws against heavyweights South Korea and Iran, and wins over China, Uzbekistan and Qatar.
Coach Ayman al-Hakim has forged a resilient unit which has an added goal threat since the return from the sidelines of forward Firas al-Khatib, who had voiced support for the Syrian rebellion, and sharpshooter Omar al-Soma, whose long absence was also believed to be for political reasons.
"Reaching the Asian play-off is almost a miracle, no one expected us to reach this stage given the tough circumstances we face in our country," al-Hakim said.
"It shows the will that the Syrians have and their ability to achieve the impossible. We hope to fulfil the dream of reaching the World Cup. It's the dream of every Syrian, every member of our team, whether the players, coaches, officials," he said.
Syria, ranked 75th, have never reached the World Cup before and they needed Soma's injury-time equaliser against Iran last month to take them into the Asian play-offs.
Soma's breakaway goal to make it 2-2 in the 93rd minute in Tehran left an excited Syrian TV commentator sobbing with happiness as he shouted his celebrations for two minutes.
But the team is not without controversy, backed as it is by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who remains in power despite a conflict which has since killed more than 320,000 people and displaced millions.
When Syria played in Singapore in the early stages of qualifying, former head coach Fajr Ibrahim and midfielder Osama Omari fronted a press conference wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the image of a smiling Assad.
Al-Soma and al-Khatib had been absent since voicing their support for the rebels fighting Assad's forces, but their return this year under al-Hakim has galvanised the Qasioun Eagles.

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