MELBOURNE looks set to miss out on a blockbuster Socceroos-Greece international in June, with the mooted clash set to be played interstate.

Greece has agreed on a double-header in Australia, with Sydney and Melbourne originally pencilled in as hosts. But a stoush over funding between Football Federation Australia and the Victorian Government extraordinarily leaves Newcastle in the box seat to host the second game.

June 4 and 7 were set down as the dates, after the Socceroos’ likely May 27 friendly away to England.

The clash, which was slated for Etihad Stadium, would have been a PR boost for the FFA and the Andrews government.

Melbourne houses the third-largest Greek population in the world while popular Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou was born in Athens before moving here at age five.

It’s understood that Postecoglou was recently approached by the Greek FA about the national coaching position, before they appointed former Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe.

The Herald Sun understands that the FFA pitched a financial model to the Victorian government, who made a counter-offer that was rejected. Talks have since broken down.

It’s also understood that the Victorian Government was looking for assurances that the first game would be played in Melbourne, as their decisions are largely based on interstate visitors.

A spokesperson for Minister for Tourism and Major Events, John Eren, refused to talk specifically about the Greece game but said that they were interested in hosting the Socceroos.

“The Andrews Labor Government is committed to securing the biggest and best major sporting events that deliver maximum economic benefits for Victorians,” the spokesperson said.

“Melbourne has a proud history of hosting some of the national team’s big games, and we look forward to the next Socceroos blockbuster in Melbourne.”

media_camera The Socceroos v Greece would be a huge draw in Melbourne.

Over 95,000 packed the MCG for the last meeting between the pair in May 2005, when Josip Skoko’s stellar strike secured a 1-0 for the Socceroos.

While Greece missed out on Euro 2016 in disappointing fashion, they qualified for the 2014 World Cup and still possess some top-notch players, including Vasilis Torosidis, Kostas Manolas (Roma), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund), Kyriakos Papdopoulos (Bayer Leverkusen) and Kostas Mitroglu (Benfica).

Melbourne soccer fans have been starved of Socceroos internationals lately, while the State Government failed to secure key 2015 Asian Cup games.

It left Newcastle and Sydney to host the semi-finals before Sydney’s ANZ Stadium hosted the dramatic final in front of 76,500.

The Socceroos’ last Melbourne clash was the January 9 Asian Cup group game against Kuwait, the only time Postecoglou has coached the Socceroos in his hometown.

The last game in Melbourne prior to the Asian Cup was on June 11, 2013, in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Jordan with Holger Osieck still in charge with 43,785 turning up.

Melbourne has not hosted any Socceroos games in the current World Cup qualifying phase, which concludes next month with games against Tajikistan (Adelaide Oval) and Jordan (Sydney Football Stadium).