Australia arrive for FIFA WC Qualifier against Bangladesh

Australia arrived in Dhaka this afternoon to play the second leg of their FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Bangladesh on June 6 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena.

In the first leg, the Socceroos crushed Bangladesh 7-0 at the Aami Park in Melbourne in November last year.

Australia changed nearly half of the squad that squashed Bangladesh in that fixture.

Bangladesh are hoping to avoid another mauling against 24th-ranked Australia in their backyard. 

"Everyone knows that Australia are stronger than us but all of us are ready and fit to play against them," Bangladesh midfielder Sohel Rana said after the team's first training session on June 2 ahead of the second leg.

"We don't want a repeat of what happened in Australia at home. We can perform well at our home ground and all of us are confident about playing better against them by making use of our home advantage… We faced problems in the cold weather in Melbourne," he added.

Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera announced a 26-member squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Australia and Lebanon, with the notable exclusion of experienced goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico.

Bangladesh will travel to Qatar after the Australia match to take on Lebanon on June 11.