18 Jul Socceroos learn draw for first round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers

Australia will face Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait and Nepal in the first stage of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The Socceroos will need to top Group B or finish as one of the four best second-placed teams to advance to the final round of qualifying.

With four of eight matches away from home, coach Graham Arnold is wary of the challenges that await his side.

“We are happy with our draw,” Arnold said.

“There are two teams that we have drawn (Kuwait and Jordan) that we have experience against and two teams that we are not as familiar with. But we will do our due diligence and ensure that we take every game as it comes and respect each match.”

“We have worked with 80 players across the Socceroos and Olyroos over the past year, so I believe with the depth that we have we are well positioned to deal with the qualifiers.”

Australia has qualified for the last four FIFA World Cups.

Below is Australia’s schedule for the first round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup:

Kuwait v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 10 September 2019

Australia v Nepal
Date: Thursday, 10 October 2019

Chinese Taipei v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 15 October 2019

Jordan v Australia
Date: Thursday, 14 November 2019

Australia v Kuwait
Date: Thursday, 26 March 2020

Nepal v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 31 March 2020

Australia v Chinese Taipei
Date: Thursday, 4 June 2020

Australia v Jordan
Date: Tuesday, 9 June 2020