Early Results Lead the Way for the Socceroos
Australia came into the Asian Cup as favourites to advance atop a group that featured India, Syria, and Uzbekistan. They did just that but not in an overwhelmingly dominant fashion as many expected.
They opened their tournament against India, the lowest ranked member of the group at 102 in the FIFA men’s rankings. As such, it was predicted that the match would be quite lopsided and see Australia flex their muscles early as one of the tournament favourites.
It wasn’t quite the dominant showing they had in mind however as the Indian’s proved to be formidable group. Australia had much of the ball early in the match, dominating possession, but were unable to find the breakthrough before the halftime whistle.
Just five minutes after the teams returned to the pitch however, the Socceroos found the back of the net by way of Jackson Irvine. Then, in the 73rd minute, Jordan Bos netted the insurance marker as Australia went on to claim the match 2-0.
Syria was next for Australia in a matchup which again the Aussies were heavy favourites. The game itself went similarly to the India match as Australia dominated the opening half but were unable to find the scoreboard.
Following the previous matches theme, it was again Irvine who found the breakthrough, this time in the 59th minute. One goal was all the Socceroos could muster as the final whistle went with a 1-0 Aussie victory.
Uzbekistan Draw Underwhelming
Rounding out the group stage for Australia was a matchup against Uzbekistan. Ranked 68th in the world this was a tougher test for the Socceroos but still a match in which they were favoured.
Uzbekistan wasn’t content to sit back and defend as the Socceroos previous two opponents had been. Instead, they took the game to the Aussies early with the games first couple of solid rushes courtesy of the Uzbek attackers.
Australia found their game some 10 minutes in and began to control much of the ball as they had done all tournament. Then, in the 11th minute it seemed Australia had found an early lead thanks to a Kusini Yengi header, but the goal was quickly called off due to an offside.
The rest of the half had a similar tone with Australia having greater possession numbers but Uzbekistan threatening on the counterattack.
Just prior to the first half whistle Australia caught a big break with a controversial handball penalty awarded to them. Martin Boyle stepped up to the spot and put it past the keeper with ease to give the Socceroos a 1-0 lead.
From then on, Australia seemed content to play conservative and hold the lead. They were unable to do so however as a 79th minute header from Azizbek Turgunboev levelled the match.
The 1-1 score would hold all the way to the final whistle in a result somewhat disappointing for the favoured Aussies.
Round of 16 Matchup with Indonesia and Potential Path to Final
The Socceroos will no prepare for Sunday’s quarterfinal matchup with Indonesia. This is the first time Indonesia have qualified for the last 16 since 2010 and Australia will be heavily favoured.
Should they win that match, the winner of Saudi Arabia and South Korea would await them in the quarterfinals in what will be a more difficult matchup.
