Australia have sealed their qualification to Round 16 of the Asian Cup after a heated battle against Syria on Wednesday morning.
Graham Arnold’s men were tested by the Syrians as they replied twice to their advantage, but in the end it was the Socceroos’ quality that made all the difference.
The Australian manager chose to play Mark Miligan in the place of suspended captain Trent Sainsbury, while Massimo Luongo was entrusted with a position in midfield. Chris Ikonomidis also started the game, hot on the heels of his performance against Palestine where he provided two assists for his teammates and was named Man of the Match.
The opportunities were shared between the two teams at the start of the game. It was four minutes before the break when Awer Mabil broke the deadlock with a beautiful strike from outside the area that left no chance for reaction to goalkeeper Alma.
However, just as the Aussies thought they would head into the locker rooms with the lead, Omar Khribin came to equalise for the Syrians just two minutes later, after his initial effort was saved by Ryan.
Chris Ikonomidis confirmed the great form that he’s in by making the most of a Rogic cross on the 54th minute and putting the Aussies back in front. It was Degenek’s clumsy defending in the box that gave the Syrians the opportunity to level the scores once again, after Al Somah successfully converted the penalty.
With less than 15 minutes remaining, Australia needed something special and they found it when Rogic slammed the ball into the back of Alma’s net late in injury time. This goal gave the Socceroos the highly-necessary three points and booked their place to the next round.
They now await the results of the remaining games of the Asian Cup group stage to confirm their opponent. However as things stand they will have their work cut out for them since they will be facing the leaders of group F (Uzbekistan or Japan.)