Australians are defending their title as champions of Asia.
Graham Arnold’s men were able to thwart off the pressure by Uzbekistan and survive all the way to the penalty kicks.
Then it was all up to Mat Ryan to crush the hopes the Central Asian nation may have harboured for reaching the final eight.
Arnold chose to make only one change compared to the team that beat Syria in Al Ain a few days ago, as captain Trent Sainsbury served his one-game ban and was made available to play.
Chris Ikonomidis retained his position in the starting eleven, but wasn’t able to make his presence felt in the opposition defence.
In fact, it was the Uzbekis that had most opportunities in the first half, with striker Eldor Shomurodov wasting the best of them.
However Ryan was always prepared to respond to any possible threats made by the Uzbeki side.
The second half saw the Socceroos taking more initiative, after the introduction of Giannou, Leckie and Kruse, but the goal never came.
The game was sent to extra time with Australia holding onto the possession, however despite chances made by Kruse and Rogic, they were never able to find the goal they needed to finish off their opponents.
With all things level after 120 minutes, the two teams were to settle matters on penalty kicks.
Behich was the first to miss, but along came Ryan to correct his teammate’s mistake.
Kruse and Giannou were on target for Australia, as Ryan saved another one this time by Bikmaev.
Leckie stepped up confidently to put the ball past Nesterov and send the Aussies into the final eight, where they will face the hosts.
The UAE managed to knock out Kyrgyzstan 3-2 on Wednesday morning, after the game was sent to extra time.