Arnold will be without the services of Joshua Lawes and Denis Grenreau after the pair picked up injuries during the group phase that are likely to keep them out of the remainder of the competition.

But the Australia coach is confident his team’s sense of unity can play a role in taking them deep into the competition.

“When your mindset is strong and clear and you believe very strongly in each other, that's when you can create some success,” he said.

“We take it one game at a time and we know what’s in front of us. As I keep saying to the boys, playing for your country is always an honour and it’s something we need to enjoy.”

Syria go into the game without Ala’a Aldin Dali after the striker, who scored in the games against Qatar and Japan, was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 1-0 loss against Saudi Arabia but are still upbeat after emerging from a demanding Group B.

Coach Ayman Hakeem will be renewing his own battle against the Australians having been in charge when the country’s senior national side was eliminated from the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoffs at the hands of the Socceroos in late 2017 and he is hoping for a better outcome at Rajamangala Stadium.

“We had our chance in the World Cup Qualifiers against Australia, but we lost,” he said. “Now we have another chance, and we hope to take this chance and go through against a team that we greatly respect.

“We have a lot of trust in our players, and we hope not to disappoint our fans. Although it was a really tough group, everyone must know we are facing a big team, and we promise our fans that we will perform well and go as far as possible in this tournament. We are proud of the trust of the fans in our team.”

Players to watch

Fixture
Australia vs Syria
Venue: Rajamangala Stadium
Kick-off: 20:15 (UTC +5)