FOOTBALL IN SYRIA

A country torn apart by civil war is daring to dream of a brighter footballing future

- John Duerden

Had Syria beaten China in June 2017 then they would have qualified for the 2018 World Cup ahead of South Korea. Just one goal would have been enough. That didn't happen and instead they went into the Asian play-off to take on Ange Postecoglou's Australia. Victory would have then meant a final elimination clash against Honduras with a place in Russia up for grabs. After a 1-1 draw at home, it was 1-1 again in the return match in Sydney. Then, in extra-time, Tim Cahill scored his second header of the game and that was that.

It was an extremely impressive run for the Qasion Eagles for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that their home games were played in Malaysia due to the security situation in Syria. If opponents had to travel to Aleppo or Damascus for big qualifiers, the results and the ultimate outcome could have been very different. Playing in front of almost empty stadiums in Southeast Asia did not make for hostile atmospheres.

The national team has not played an official game at home since 2010. The country was plunged into civil war in the following year, to devastating effect, as long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad fought to stay in power. Hundreds of thousands lost their lives and millions were displaced. But in December last year, rebel groups mounted a surprise offensive and quickly took the country's second city of Aleppo up in the north, a regular host of national team games before the war, and everything changed almost overnight. Al-Assad fled the country for Moscow, ending a dynasty that had ruled for over half a century.

THE WAR

It is not surprising that as a country turned on itself, footballers and the national team were also far from united. Al-Assad, like many leaders in history, was not averse to using the game to present an image to the rest of the world of a nation standing together.