Australia coach Ange Postecoglou has vowed to maintain the rage against Syria with a full-blooded performance that begins in the first minute of their AFC World Cup qualifying playoff next Thursday.
Australia have been forced into a repechage route to make next year's tournament in Russia after finishing third in their qualifying Group B, behind second-placed Saudi Arabia on goal difference.
First up is a two-legged clash with Syria, third-place finishers in Group A, with matches in Malacca, Malaysia on Oct. 5 and Sydney on Oct. 10.
If successful, they will then play the fourth-placed finishers in the CONCACAF zone -- likely to be Panama, Honduras or United States -- in a home-and-away series in November.
It's an arduous route, and Postecoglou is again without his captain Mile Jedinak for the matches against Syria after the 33-year-old succumbed once more to his ongoing groin trouble.
While there's no Jedinak, Postecoglou says there will be no surprises, and no excuses.
"Every game has got its challenges. But we've faced them all," Postecoglou said.
"Pitches. Weather conditions. Crowds. Lack of crowds. Hostile venues. Neutral venues.
"We've done it all.
"The players have experienced these, and there will be nothing surprising in this game."
Postecoglou admitted the delay to discover their venue in Malaysia was "unsettling", but the Socceroos were now well-advanced in their preparations.
And that means a continuation of the possession-based, full-throttle style that has ruffled feathers and attracted crticism, but Postecoglou believes in completely.
"We're going to go hard at it in that first game and see if they cope," Postecoglou said.
"Our approach won't change. We'll try and take the game to them.
"The beauty of the home and away fixture is they're going to have to work pretty hard to keep up with us in that first game. Then they're going to have to back up and do it again in that second game.
"Most of the time teams only get one shot at us. They'll have try to keep up for two games, not just the one.
"It's going to hopefully put us on the front foot when we come here.
"And what we do know is we consistently beat teams at home."
The Socceroos have never played Syria, but Postecoglou said his staff had scouted the West Asian underdogs since the beginning of qualifying.
"We know them really well, and we'll be well prepared like we always are," he said.
"They'll sit back and make it hard for us like most teams do. It will be up to us to try and force them open."
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Mitchell Langerak, Danny Vukovic
Defenders: Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Mathew Jurman, Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury, Brad Smith, Bailey Wright
Midfielders: Mustafa Amini, Craig Goodwin, Jackson Irvine, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic, James Troisi
Forwards: Tim Cahill, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie, Nikita Rukavytsya
