Salalah: Syria’s record appearance maker Mosab Balhous believes the Qasioun Eagles’ “spirit, desire and determination” can see them past Australia in the second leg of their FIFA World Cup continental play-off on Tuesday.
The tie is tightly poised after Omar Al Soma's late penalty helped Syria salvage a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Melaka on Thursday following Robbie Kruse's first-half opener, and both sides are now eyeing an inter-continental play-off date with the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF.
Ahead of the much-anticipated clash in Sydney, the-AFC.com spoke to Syria’s former goalkeeper Balhous about his thoughts on what is arguably the biggest game in the country's history.
"The (first leg) match was pretty good," said Balhous. "We managed to control proceedings in the second half, as opposed to the first half. Only luck prevented us from scoring."
The Al Karamah legend, who made more than 80 appearances for his country, represented Syria the last time they appeared at a major international tournament, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
And the 34-year-old believes that the current Syria side have the capability to do what is necessary to overcome an Australian team who have yet to taste defeat at home in the current qualifying campaign.
"I think we can go through to the next round. This will come as a result of the spirit, desire and determination of the players," he added.
Balhous spent a decade with the Syrian national team and he counts their appearance at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup and winning the 2012 WAFF Championship in Kuwait as being among his best memories.
Although he is now retired and working as a goalkeeping coach for Omani side Dhofar, many of his former teammates are still in the Syrian line-up and Balhous admits that he wishes he was still part of the national team set-up.
"Any player would love to be present in this team, playing alongside this group of great stars. It’s an honour for any player to represent his country," said Balhous.
"It’s difficult to predict how the match will turn out. The team that have patience will win. I hope it will be our national team."
Photos: Getty Images
Source: the-afc.com