The war-torn nation’s home games in the competition, where they are bidding to earn a spot at the World Cup in Russia in two years’ time, were initially due to be held in Macau.

The Asian city withdrew from the deal last week, however, after the Macau Football Association (MFA) and the Syrian Arab Football Federation (SAFF) failed to reach a final agreement.

This left Syria searching for a replacement with less than seven days before the match was scheduled to be played, raising fears that they would be unable to fulfil today's fixture.

But the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, a 20,000-seater venue in Paroi, gave the green light to hosting the Syria versus South Korea encounter.

It is not yet known whether Malaysia will play host to Syria’s other four home Group A matches – against China, Qatar, Iran and Uzbekistan.

Syria’s contest with the South Koreans, ranked 57 places higher in the FIFA standings, finished in a dour 0-0 draw.

The Syrian defence remained resolute throughout, thwarting the South Korean side’s attacks throughout to hold on for a valuable draw, their first point in the group after they were beaten 1-0 by Uzbekistan in Tashkent on September 1.

Following the encounter with South Korea, Syria’s next "home" game, against Iran, is set to take place on November 15.

The SAFF will be hoping Malaysia agree to host the rest of their encounters in a bid to avoid the confusion which surrounded the South Korea game.

Syria are competing in the third round of World Cup qualification for the first time since the Mexico 1986 campaign, where they lost out to Iraq.

The top two teams from each of the two groups will guarantee themselves a place at the tournament in Russia, with the third-placed nations battling it out in a two-legged tie for a place in the inter-confederation play-offs.

They would then have to overcome the side which finished the CONCACAF qualification competition in fourth place to book their World Cup berth.