Connor Metcalfe butchered a glorious opportunity as the Socceroos met South Korea in the Asian Cup.

Australia hasn’t been firing on all cylinders at the Asian Cup - but then again, which teams have?

The Socceroos topped their group in the Asian Cup despite drawing with Uzbekistan.

Australia have landed in the ‘easier’ side of the tournament’s knockout draw, but there was more cause for concern to come from their clash with a bright Uzbekistan.

Martin Boyle converted controversial first-half penaltyBut White Wolves were well worth their equaliser In the end, Azizbek Turgunboev’s 78th-minute equaliser felt like cosmic justice for Uzbekistan. Sprinting in from his position on the right, the 29-year-old soared to meet a ball lofted in by Jaloliddin Masharipov, rising, fairly, over the top of Aziz Behich and giving Maty Ryan no chance of keeping the ball from nestling into the back of the net. It ensured that the White Wolves would progress as the second-placed finisher in group B, advancing alongside the top-of-the-tree Socceroos, who topped the standings after Tuesday evening’s 1-1 draw at the Al Janoub stadium in Qatar. It also ensured that the Uzbeks would be rewarded for a performance in which they were the better side across the 90 minutes, and prevented Martin Boyle’s controversial penalty in first-half stoppage from proving the difference. Because never was a round of applause delivered with more contempt than the ovation Uzbekistan coach Srečko Katanec gave the fourth official in the moments before the Scottish-born Socceroo drilled a penalty into the bottom corner of the net, sending Utkir Yusupov the wrong way and converting the game’s only shot on target. Continue reading...

Graham Arnold’s side will be without striker Mitch Duke as they look to make it three wins from three starts in Qatar and lock in a potentially easier path in the knockout stages.

Socceroos look to finish on top with final group matchKick-off at Al Janoub Stadium is 2.30pm local / 10.30pm AEDT Tonight’s game is at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, a place with some of the happiest possible memories for this generation of players and fans. Graham Arnold’s pre-match thoughts I can be honest and say Mitchell Duke is out with a hamstring (injury), it’ll be one game at a time for him. He had a bit of a scan and he’s got a small strain, so he’ll be out. So, it’s an opportunity for me to have a look at other players as well against good opposition, a great test. At the end of the day, winning is the most important thing and obviously we can do better in that department. There’ll be a few changes, but I don’t think there’s much difference in the depth of our squad now, I think that if you make changes, the team will still be strong. I think the most important thing is sometimes the individual quality of backing ourselves. Continue reading...

They’re already through to the next round, but a win over Uzbekistan would confirm a spot on the easier side of the Asian Cup’s knockout bracket - if such a thing even exists at a tournament where the so-called minnows are closing the gap.

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Jackson Irvine scored against Syria to send the Socceroos through to the next stage of the Asian Cup.

Australia are into the round of 16 after another hard-fought win over Syria, with midfielder Jackson Irvine once again scoring the crucial breakthrough goal.

Socceroos likely to top Group B after 1-0 victory in QatarBut Graham Arnold’s side have much room for improvement Given the success that he’s had with naturalising players, Australia coach Graham Arnold may want to investigate getting the post used whenever his side plays Syria a permanent gig. Only five minutes into what would end as a 1-0 win over the Qasioun Eagles, secured by Jackson Irvine’s 59th-minute strike, the woodwork was the only thing standing between the Socceroos and an early deficit: Ibrahim Hesar teeing up Pablo Sabbag to hammer an effort off the frame of the goal. Just over six years on from the post keeping Australia’s dreams of the 2018 World Cup alive when it denied Omar Al-Somah’s last-second free-kick in an AFC qualifying playoff, it denied Syria again. It was a rare moment of attack from Héctor Cúper’s side across the first 40 minutes but it was also the best opportunity either side would create at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar until Irvine’s strike. Arnold’s side dominated on the stat sheet throughout much of the game but created very little that gave Ahmad Madania pause in the Syrian goal. So little, in fact, that it wasn’t until the opener that they would put a shot on target -- and that would be their only one for the game. It echoed the Socceroo performance against India in their opening fixture, one featuring another early scare via a Sunil Chhetri header. Continue reading...

The Socceroos can all but guarantee their passage to the knockout stages in Qatar when Graham Arnold’s team face a side who have given them trouble in the past.

Socceroos play Syria at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium Kick off in Doha is 2.30pm local / 10.30pm AEDT Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Syria v Australia in the Asia Cup. The Fifa rankings (91st v 25th) say this is a banker – but the memory banks of Socceroos fans say otherwise. In the three meetings between the sides, Syria have been buttock-clenchingly tough opposition. In 2017, Australia needed an extra-time goal from Tim Cahill in Sydney to win a ding-dong World Cup qualification playoff. There was no extra-time in the group stage of the 2019 Asian Cup – but there was injury time, during which Tom Rogic gave Australia a tense 3-2 victory. Continue reading...