The Socceroos will not play their next 'home' World Cup qualifier against Oman in Australia, with confirmation the match will be again held in Qatari capital Doha.
Via a statement on their website, the Asian Football Confederation has revealed the green and gold will take on Oman at the Khalifa International Stadium on Friday October 8 at 4.30am (AEST).
It's a blow for the Socceroos, who were hoping to host the match at CommBank Stadium in Sydney, after their first 'home' game against China was played at the Khalifa International Stadium in September because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With much of Australia under strict rules and regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the China match was moved to neutral territory because it wasn't possible for players to come Down Under for the match and not quarantine for a time period.
Confirmation from the AFC of the location of the Oman match suggests that Football Australia were unable to come to an agreement with Australia's governments for rules and regulations to be relaxed to allow the game to go ahead in Sydney.
The Socceroos have enjoyed a brilliant start to the third stage of World Cup qualifying with two consecutive wins against China and Vietnam adding to their eight straight wins in the previous stage of qualifying.
Graham Arnold's side have two further World Cup qualifiers scheduled for November against Saudi Arabia (home) and Japan (away), with a hope that the former will be able to played in Australia - if COVID-19 regulations allow it to be.
Australia need to finish in the top two of Group B in World Cup qualifying to book a direct spot at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, with a playoff route up for grabs for the teams that finish third across Group A and B.