Tony Popovic and Nikolai Topor-Stanley face the media ahead of tonight’s Champions League semi-final.
The Western Sydney Wanderers are potentially 90 minutes away from the biggest match possible for any Australian sporting club.
Following a 0-0 draw away from home in the first leg of the AFC Champions League semi-final against FC Seoul, a number of different scenarios are now possible.
A two-legged tie means that both a home match and an away match is played with the team who scores the most aggregate goals declared the winner of the tie. If both teams score the same amount of goals, the side with more away goals is the winner.
Possible scenarios
Western Sydney Wanderers win: No matter what the score, if Wanderers win on Wednesday night then they proceed to the final.
FC Seoul win: No matter what the score, if Seoul win on Wednesday night then they proceed to the final.
0-0 draw: A scoreless draw will mean 30 minutes of extra time. If the match is still even after extra time the match will go to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner.
Any other draw: A score draw will mean that FC Seoul progress due to the away goals rule.
The home venue is yet to be confirmed if the Wanderers make the final and while the Club has made it clear that their preference is Parramatta Stadium, AFC will decide on a Wanderers home finals venue following qualification according to AFC Champions League Final guidelines.
It has been an incredible journey so far for the Wanderers who are aiming to become only the second Australian side to make it to the Champions League finals and the first to make it in their debut season.
Starting off the campaign with a loss to Korean side Ulsan Hyundai, the Red & Black have not conceded a goal at home since, winning all four matches at Parramatta and scoring nine goals.
The return of attacking trio Tomi Juric, Brendon Santalab and Shannon Cole will be a big plus for the home team who hope to keep up their impressive scoring record of scoring in ten out of their eleven matches.
They have also avoided conceding during the first half in every match (home and away) since the opening round.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early to the match to avoid entry delays that often occurs just before kick-off.
A few simple steps will ensure that entry to Wanderland is as smooth as possible with everyone getting to their seat in time.
- Pre-fold your ticket. Don’t be ‘that guy’ who holds up the line because they only fold their ticket when they get up to the scanner
- Leave bags at home. There will be a bag check for 100% of bags brought into the stadium, save time and leave it at home
- If you pre-ordered tickets, head to the match early to avoid the queues of people picking their tickets up
- Get to the ground early. Even if you have your tickets get there at 7:10pm to see the team warm-up and get announced on the big screen
The Western Sydney Wanderers take FC Seoul in the AFC Champions League Semi-Final on Wednesday 1 October at Parramatta Stadium. Kick-off is at 7:30pm with limited tickets still available online via Ticketmaster and at the gate.
The match will be shown live on Fox Sports 3 if you can’t make it to Wanderland.