It comes as Australia looked set to start Tuesday night's high-stakes World Cup play-off without Aaron Mooy after the star midfielder was dropped to the bench.
Ahead of the game, Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou dropped a selection bombshell for the crunch clash at ANZ Stadium, reportedly leaving Mooy out of his starting XI against Syria.
The move was a huge gamble given the Huddersfield Town man was the standout in last week's opening-leg 1-1 draw.
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Postecoglou had flagged his intent to insert fresh legs into his attack with Tom Rogic, Tim Cahill, Massimo Luongo, Jackson Irvine and James Troisi all either not playing or coming off the bench last Thursday in Malaysia.
The Socceroos won 2-1 to advance to a final Russia 2018 play-off against the fourth-placed CONCACAF finisher, likely at this stage to be Panama or Honduras.
Tim Cahill scored twice in the extra time win to keep the team's World Cup hopes alive.
As some of the teams' biggest fans made their way to the match, they spoke to SBS about how they were feeling about the game.
"[I] hope Australia win. I don’t think they’ll win by a big margin, maybe 2-1. Fingers crossed Timmy Cahill scores. I'll be devastated [if we don't qualify]," Judy told SBS World News.
Another fan, Kobe, said: "I'd like to see them go to the World Cup. I'm pretty nervous for them. I think it will be pretty close. I’d like to see the Socceroos come out on top. I think they definitely can do it."
And for Syrians in Australia, the game has a special significance.
Syria supporter Noura said: "This hasn't happened in a long time. And for Syrians to come here, it means a lot, especially with what they're going through in their country at the moment.
"We have a big community here and for everyone to get together and just celebrate how Syria's here is something very big."
- with additional reporting from Darren Mara
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