Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh left the country for medical treatment at the weekend after being wounded in an attack on his palace, the culmination of weeks of violent protest in the country.

The FFA had been advised by the Australian Foreign Ministry that sending their team, nicknamed the Olyroos, to the Arabian Peninsula state was not advisable.

"Obviously we are really happy with this outcome in light of the current situation in Yemen," said Australian coach Aurelio Vidmar.

"It was always our preference to play both matches in Australia to avoid unnecessary travel where possible.

"FFA has done a tremendous job in negotiating this outcome and we thank Yemen for agreeing to this offer."

The matches, part of Asian qualification for next year's London 2012, will take place in Gosford on June 19 and Newcastle four days later.

The winners on aggregate will progress to the next round of qualification which sees the 12 winners from Round 2 divided into three groups of four teams each.

The teams in each group will then play in a home-and-away format from 21 September 2011, to 14 March 14, 2012, with the winner of each group directly qualifying for London 2012.

The three second-placed teams from the third round will clash in a playoff at a centralised venue from March 25 to 29, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of Confederation of African Football (CAF) for a berth in London 2012.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]