The Socceroos recorded their first loss of the World Cup Qualifiers as they went down to Jordan 2-0 in Amman early this morning.

The Australian players will leave the middle east with a sense of deja vu, having lost in the same stadium in three years ago.

A penalty 30 seconds into the second half, and a late sealer from the ever-present Hamza Al Daldour broke the Socceroos’ eight-game winning run, their first loss since January.

The game started positively for the Aussies, with plenty of possession but just lacking the final ball.

Tom Rogic and Tommy Oar had a small number of chances from distance, but Ange Postecoglou’s men weren’t able to get in behind the resilient Jordanian defence.

The hosts were happy to absorb the pressure, fancying their chances on the counter, but their confidence grew as the Socceroos were unable to break them down time and time again.

Al Dardour’s pace was a constant threat, the striker finding himself in behind the Australian centre-back pairing of Matthew Spiranovic and youngster Bailey Wright.

Jordan almost found the lead moments before half time, Yaseen Anas Al-Bakhit fooling Jason Davidson with his mazy run, before his shot-cum-cross pinballed between keeper Adam Federici and his near post.

The goal to break the deadlock came only 30 seconds after the restart, Al Dardour fouled by Spiranovic as he tried to shoot, winning a penalty.

Hassan Abdel-Fattah made no mistake from the spot, firing down the middle past Federici to send the vocal home crowd into delirium.

The Socceroos looked increasingly tired as the game wore on, even the introduction of all-time leading goalscorer Tim Cahill wasn’t enough to inject new life into the team.

Bringing on Cahill gave Postecoglou a ‘Plan B’, the attack now focused on delivering the ball to the talisman’s head.

The game had slowed too much, however, for the Socceroos to change the outcome – the hosts’ play-acting damaging the integrity of what was a well-executed underdog performance.

With five minutes to go, after what seemed to be a foul on Davidson, the ball again fell to Al Dardour, who tidily finished past Federici to seal the win for the the home team.

As a result of the loss, the Socceroos now slip to second in Group B of the World Cup Qualifying group, leapfrogged by Jordan who now lead by one point.

The Socceroos face Kyrgyzstan in Canberra on the 12th of November.

Jordan – 2 (47’ Abdel-Fattah (pen.), 85’ Al Dardour)

Australia – 0

Amman International Stadium, Jordan

DION CORBO