Australia, Uzbekistan join hands to enter the 1/8 round of Asian Cup

Although they have secured a ticket to the 2023 Asian Cup Round of 16, Australia is still determined to score against Uzbekistan in the final match to keep the top spot in the group.

Coach Graham Arnold's team entered the match proactively and controlled the ball up to 57% in the first half, but had difficulty finishing in the opponent's third of the field when Uzbekistan's defense played tight defense in their own half.

However, the turning point came in the 41st minute when midfielder Odiljon Hamrobekov handled the ball in the penalty area. Initially, the referee did not blow the whistle but VAR technology intervened to award Australia a penalty.

On the 11m mark, Martin Boyle easily finished past goalkeeper Yusupov to help Australia take the lead in the 45+1 minute of the first half.

Australia, Uzbekistan dắt tay nhau vào vòng 1/8 Asian Cup - 1 — Martin Boyle opened the scoring for Australia from a penalty kick in the 45+1 minute (Photo: Getty).

In the second half, Uzbekistan tried to push up their formation to find an equalizer and put a lot of pressure on Australia's field. Uzbekistan's efforts were rewarded with Turgunboev's equalizer, after a high jump and accurate header in the 78th minute.

The remaining minutes saw both teams play cautiously, leading to a 1-1 draw after more than 90 minutes of play. With this result, Australia topped the group with 7 points, while Uzbekistan ranked second with 5 points and won 2 tickets to the next round of Group B.

In the remaining match of Group B, the Syrian team won a dramatic victory over India with a narrow score of 1-0, thereby winning a ticket to the round of 16 as one of the four third-placed teams with the best results in each group.

Line-up

Australia : Ryan, Atkinson, Rowles, Souttar, Baccus, Bos, Behich, Irvine, McGree, Yengi, Boyle.

Uzbekistan : Yusupov, Arrshumatov, Eshmurodov, Abdirahmatov, Sayfiyev, Hamborekov, Shukurov, Erkinov, Narsullayev, Urunov, Fayzullayev.