If nothing else the group opponents will do wonders for our youth as they embark on various spelling bees with Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan - the four nations the Socceroos must top to progress to the final group stage.
Of that quartet Jordan will present the sternest test having defeated the Socceroos in the final stage of qualification for Brazil 2014 on an unforgettable evening for it in Amman.
Goals from Hassan Abdel Fattah and Amer Deeb were enough for a 2-1 win that the locals celebrated long into the night on the edge of the vast Wehdat refugee camp where cars were lined up hundreds deep with flags (both Jordanian and Palestinian) flying and horns blazing as if the Nashama had won the World Cup itself.
Coaches have come and gone in recent seasons but the local FA is well run and there is a sprinkling of young talent starting to blossom despite the side crashing out at the group stages of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
The first-up home opponent will be Bangladesh – a nation where football falls a distant second to cricket and where the facilities will be something of a harking back to the days of local park football for the bulk of the squad.
Australian Nathan Hall coached the country’s leading club side, Abahani, in 2012 and while he believes the facilities will present certain challenges the nation no longer deserves to be classed as a minnow.
“Football is not the most popular sport and all the league matches are played at a handful of stadiums which are sub-standard grounds; bumpy and patchy with not much grass but they’ve been making good progress in recent years," Hall said.
“There’s a Dutch guy in charge of the nation now and the players are improving physically.
“They’ve always been technically gifted and eager to learn but now they’re able to push through 90 minutes at a good tempo which hasn’t always been the case.
“In recent years they’ve done well against the likes of India and although Australia will be strong favourites they will fight for everything for 90 minutes and not be the pushovers many expect.”
The first away trip is to the picturesque city of Bishkek, ringed by the Ala-Too mountain ranges, where the local FA has been making major investment in facilities and coaching over recent years.
Despite this, the standard of training and match pitches will again be far lower than what the Socceroos are used to and it’s these logistical dangers that present considerable problems for FFA and its staff.
Tajikistan is similar, although with even lower levels of development than its Kyrgyz neighbour.
Football development in the nation has been patchy and prone to corruption and cronyism.
In the several matches I saw last year on a trip to the country there was an all-in brawl at one, brown paper bags exchanged at another, rocks thrown at the team bus at one more, as well as soldiers with guns at the ready at all.
I was also almost caught in an elaborate police sting that started with a bottle of Coca-Cola – but that’s a longer story.
For the travelling fans, each of the four nations presents a unique experience. For the football public it’s a chance to see three nations close up we’re yet to meet at senior international level.
The end-goal though is topping the group and progressing to the final stage of qualification and it’s an aim that shouldn’t present – over a ten match, home and away campaign - too many hurdles for an evolving side recently crowned Asian champion.
