Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer has backed Australia to qualify for the 2022 World Cup but admits the prospect of not playing any qualifiers on home soil looms as a major concern.
The green and gold have had to take their home match against China on September 2 to Qatar with Football Australia unable to secure quarantine exemptions to host the game in Australia.
Graham Arnold's side are then set to host Oman on October 7 and Saudi Arabia on November 11 with a return to Australia still unlikely for both of those matches at this stage.
Schwarzer, speaking to Sporting News in association with sports betting community OLBG, conceded that losing that home-ground advantage is a big blow for the Socceroos.
"It’s huge because you don’t have that support and we’ve seen now through the pandemic how big it is to have that atmosphere at a game," Schwarzer said.
"In Qatar there will just be a handful of people and that’s going to distract a little bit from that home-ground advantage.
"China are a team you can’t underestimate. They’ve always given us a really good battle. So it’s tough but it is what it is. We’ve just got to take it on the chin and deal with it. I feel for Arnie, especially with squad selection."
While the prospect of playing few if any World Cup qualifiers on home soil is concerning, Schwarzer believes this squad is capable of stepping up to the task having recently won all four of their games played in a Kuwaiti hub.
"I think our chances are good. They should naturally qualify without an issues but it’s not always the way," he said.
"Playing away from home in Asia is tough and now having to play some of our home games away too makes it that little bit more difficult. It’s not an easy group but when you get to this stage it’s never easy.
"What really worries me is we might not having any home-ground advantage at all and that could really hurt us. But the way they performed in Kuwait was absolutely outstanding.
"I don’t think people really fathom how difficult it is to play in those conditions. I thought they did an incredible job of winning those games and they made it look easy which it never is over there."
The Socceroos have qualified for the past four World Cups and recently rose to 35th in the latest FIFA world rankings.