Australia became the second qualifier, after host Qatar, to the round of 16 of the Asian Nations Championship by defeating Syria 1-0, on Thursday, at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, in the second round of Group Two competitions.
Jackson Irvine scored Australia’s goal, ranked 25th in the world, his second goal in the finals.
This victory is Australia’s second in the continental tournament after defeating India 2-0 in the first round, raising its score to 6 points, ensuring at least a second place finish, while Syria’s score remains one point, after drawing negatively with Uzbekistan.
The group also includes the teams of Uzbekistan and India, who will meet later today.
In the third and final round of the group stage, Syria will meet India next Tuesday, and Australia, which reached the round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup, will meet Uzbekistan at the same time.
Despite the loss, Syria still has hope of reaching the second round for the first time in its history after failing in its first six participation. If it wins over India in the final round, it will raise its score to 4 points and enhance its chances.
The “Qasioun Eagles” almost opened the scoring early with the first attack, but Pablo Sabbagh’s shot, born in Colombia, hit the crossbar after a pass from Ibrahim Hissar (5).
Australia had a large percentage of the ball and launched most of its attacks on the left side, but except for the hesitation of the Syrian defenders in clearing some balls, the Socceroos did not pose any real threat to the Syrian goalkeeper, Ahmed Madaniyah.
In general, the rhythm of the two teams was very slow, as if they were in a training session.
Syria relied on counterattacks from time to time, so Ammar Ramadan launched a creeping ball that landed in the outside net (39), and Sabbagh tried with his left foot from outside the area, hitting the crossbar (45).
In the second half, the Australian team succeeded in opening the scoring after an individual effort by Martin Boyle, and the Syrian defense failed to clear the ball twice inside the area, so it reached Irvine, the German St. Pauli player, who turned around and shot the ball between the legs of the Syrian goalkeeper (60).
Australia’s Jackson Irvine fights for the ball against Syria’s Antonio Yakoub during the Asian Cup Group B soccer match between Australia and Syria at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed)
Syria’s Argentine coach, Hector Cuper, made an offensive change, bringing in Omar Khribin and Fahd Al-Yousef, instead of Sabbagh, and Muhammad Al-Aswad. He abandoned his caution and became active offensively thanks to Khribin’s dangerous movements.
The confrontations between the two teams carry sad memories for Syria after Australia lost the Syrians’ dream of qualifying for the World Cup finals in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, when the two teams reached the Asian playoff, drawing 1-1 in the first leg with Omar Al Souma, who was excluded from this tournament, before Syria lost the return match in Melbourne. After extra time 2-1.
2024-01-18 13:51:47
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