Asian Cup: Socceroos through to second round as Jackson Irvine strike sinks Syria
The Socceroos are through to the next round of the Asian Cup after a plucky win against Syria in the group stage, with Jackson Irvine getting on the end of a Martin Boyle run to find the back of the net.
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Midfielder Jackson Irvine scored for the second time in two matches as the Socceroos sealed their spot in the Asian Cup knockout stages with a 1-0 win over Syria in Doha.
Having also found the back of the net in Australia’s 2-0 Group B weekend victory against India, Irvine again has his scoring boots on, much to the relief of a Socceroos side that again struggled in attack.
For the second match in succession, the Socceroos produced a disappointing first-half display as they failed to trouble the well-organised Syrians, who had the better of the chances in the opening stanza
The Socceroos lacked energy in attack and laboured in possession too often as they became frustrated in their attempt to break down their opponents.
The Australians again lifted in the second half, but it was another performance that they will need to improve on if they are to go deep into the tournament.
It took an hour for the Socceroos to score, with the opportunity proved by winger Martin Boyle.
The Scotland-born Hibs star took on the Syrians as he charged to the edge of the penalty area.
His pass that was directed towards substitute Riley McGree was blocked by the Syria defence, but in a scrappy passage of play, the ball wasn’t cleared, and eventually fell for Irvine, who stabbed it home past goalkeeper Ahmad Madania to score his 11th goal for the Socceroos.
It proved to be all that the Australians needed to secure another three points and guarantee themselves a berth in the round-of-16.
FT | ðð®ðšð¥ð¢ðŸð¢ðœðšðð¢ð¨ð§ ð’ðžðœð®ð«ðžð 🎯
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) January 18, 2024
Jackson Irvine brilliance makes the difference as we secure our place in the #AsianCup2023 Round of 16! 🙌#SYRvAUS#Socceroos#DifferentBreedpic.twitter.com/gtl8U5h3mT
However, the Socceroos were given a major scare in the fifth minute when Syria’s Colombia-born forward Pablo Sabbag hit the post with a low strike that had Australia’s goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan beaten.
The Syrians also had two other first-half chances, with Ammar Ramadan hitting the side netting with a 39th-minute strike and Sabbag blazing a shot over the crossbar five minutes later after Socceroos defender Cameron Burgess gave the ball away in a dangerous position.
Irvine’s goal settled Australia’s nerves, however there was one final scare when the masked Ryan, who is still recovering from a fractured cheekbone, nearly fumbled a shot from Moayad Ajan into his own net in the 68th minute.
THREE CHANGES
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold tinkered with a winning line-up, making three changes to the team that started in win over India.
Cameron Burgess was recalled to the heart of Australia’s defence at the expense of Kye Rowles.
Midfielder Aiden O’Neill started ahead of Keanu Baccus, while left-sided utility Jordan Bos – who scored after coming off the bench against India – forced his way into the starting team, with winger Craig Goodwin dropping to the bench.
CONTINUE BELOW TO READ AS IT HAPPENED
12:30AM: SOCCEROOS WIN!
That’s all she wrote from Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar, with the Socceroos securing a 1-0 victory over Syria and a spot in the second round of the Asian Cup.
Jackson Irvine scored the only goal in the match, with a Mat Ryan spill nearly costing the Aussies a fifth clean sheet in a row.
The Socceroos take on Uzbekistan on Tuesday night in the final match in the group stage.
12.23AM: ENTERING STOPPAGE TIME
We’re into stoppage time. Six minutes for the Australians to hold on.
Sam Silvera has missed a strong chance on the far side after Jackson Irvine set him up, with his shot sailing high.
12.20AM: SYRIANS REFUSE TO RELENT
Syria is throwing everything it can at the Socceroos as we enter the final few minutes of regular time this Asian Cup clash.
If they don’t secure at least a point in this game they must beat India in their final game, while a win here sees Australia through to the next round.
Sam Silvera has been given a yellow card due to an aerial contest which saw a Syrian player go down in pain.
We then saw big Harry Souttar lumbering down the pitch in a three-on-three, send the ball wide to Fornaroli, and then have the cross back in repelled.
Souttar was not happy he didn’t get the ball given straight back to him, giving a spray Brendan Favola would be proud of.
12.10AM: IT’S BRUNO TIME, BABY
Mitch Duke has made his way off the pitch for the Socceroos, with Bruno Fornaroli making his way onto the field.
Antonio Yakoub has also come on for the Syrians, with striker Ibrahim Hesar coming off and looking filthy at manager Hector Cuper as he does so.
Still at 1-0 with just 10 minutes to go.
12.00AM: HEARTS IN MOUTH AS RYAN SPILLS IT
Take a breath, everyone.
Mat Ryan spilled a long-range shot fromMahmoud Al Aswad which came in from outside the box, nearly resulting in a goal.
The ball seemed to come slowe than the Aussie captain expected, spilling from his hands back towards the goal before a diving effort tapped it back out, only for him to neet to scramble back out to dive on it.
maty ryan fumble pic.twitter.com/Jn2GkIbXlk
— ALM (@TheRealALM) January 18, 2024
Bit more desperation from the Syrians in attack now after that Irvine goal, with the side making two substitutions after the score.
Twenty minutes to go.
11.52PM: GOAL AUSTRALIA!
A Jackson Irvine goal has put Australia on the board agaisnt Syria!
A wonderful run from Martin Boyle gave Irvine the ball in the box in the 59th minute and once again, Graham Arnold makes a swathe of changes and less than 120 seconds later Australia is on the board.
JACKSON IRVINE BREAKS THE DEADLOCK!!!! pic.twitter.com/auEqQCJ3mq
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) January 18, 2024
It's Irvine’s second goal of the tournament and 11th in Australian colours, and puts us in a commanding position with half an hour to go.
How will the Syrians react?
JACKSON IRVINE!!
— 10 Football (@10FootballAU) January 18, 2024
2 GOALS IN 2 GAMES!!
All the frustration is lifted for Australia, as Irvine's big toe works its magic!!@Socceroos lead Syria 1-Nil, right on the hour mark.
📺💻📱: https://t.co/M14OJmndRV (stream) #SYRvAUS#asiancup2023pic.twitter.com/Um3Nm7E7oI
11.50PM: SOCCEROOS LOOKING STEADIER AS ARNOLD DEPLOYS SUBS
The Socceroos have looked steadier in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with a few forays forward which haven’t amounted to much.
Graham Arnold has made three changes, with Baccus, Silvera and McGree coming on for O’Neill, Bos and Metcalfe to hopefully shake things up for the Socceroos.
Some stats from the half for you, with the Aussies accounting for 68 per cent of possession and more than double the number of passes, 309 to 147.
However, Australia is only just ahead with six shots to four, while neither side has registered a shot on goal.
11.35PM: BACK IN ACTION
We’re all systems go in the second half. No substitutions made in the major break.
11:23PM: HALF TIME
We go into the break at nil-all, with the Socceroos still in control - but only just.
Syria looked dangerous in the back section of the first half, with several well-controlled thrusts against the Australian defence.
Australia had several chances, but wasn’t able to make the most of them.
We’re in for an enthralling second half.
11.17PM: SYRIAN ATTACKING MORE AS STOPPAGE TIME BEGINS
Syria has put together several good attacking thrusts in a row here, as we enter stoppage time.
Pablo Sabbag has sent a shot above the outstretched hands of Maty Ryan in goals as the Qasioun Eagles have spent more time in attack in the last 10 minutes, and looking better than the Socceroos while doing so.
Ammar Ramadan was on the outside screaming for the ball though for that Sabbag shot, and arguably had a cleaner path to goal.
Minutes later Sabbag ran into big Harry Souttar in the box to repel yet another attack.
11.10PM: CORNERS MISSED AT BOTH ENDS
Syria has had three rare forays in attack in a row, with one repelled by Australia’s defence and another corner sailing far over the net.
Ammar Ramadan then missed a golden chance for the Qasioun Eagles in the clear after a Jones header to clear landed in his lap.
It followed another half-chance from Jackson Irvine for Australia from a corner, just missing a lunge to put head to a ball deflecting off Jones.
Five minutes to go in the first half.
10.57PM: O’NEILL HANDED A YELLOW CARD
Aiden O’Neill has won a free kick and been handed a yellow card in the same play.
Pablo Sabbag pulled on his arm, giving up a free kick to the Australian centre, which caused O’Neill to jerk his arm up colliding with the Syrian forward’s nose.
O'Neill wins the foul and gets yellow carded? Make it make sense #SYRvAUS
— Alex Conrad (@alexhconrad) January 18, 2024
Sabbag has spent a bit of time on the ground getting a bloodied nose cleaned by trainers but otherwise he looks fine to continue.
10.49PM: CHANCE GOES HIGH, SOCCEROOS LOOKING STRONG
Jackson Irvine has sent a diving header well above the crossbar off a Connor Metcalfe free kick.
Was hardly what you’d consider a chance considering how far he had to dive for it, but the Socceroos are looking far more dangerous in attack than they did last match against India.
A few minutes later he connected with another header, but it sailed high above the pack and safely into the hands of Syrian keeper Ahmad Madania.
10.36PM: SYRIA BOUNCES ONE OFF THE WOODWORK
Syria’s Pablo Sabbag has nearly got the Qasioun Eagles off to the best start possible, firing a shot across a diving Maty Ryan but thundering into the woodwork!
Nearly a nightmare for Australia but luckily they’ve been saved by the post.
The ball went straight down the other end where a set piece was unable to be finished off at ground level by the Socceroos.
10.30PM: AND WE’RE OFF
We’re off and running against Syria!
10.15PM: SOCCEROOS COMING IN WITH FORM
The Socceroos have kept four clean sheets in a row coming into tonight’s clash, with eight conceded in the five before that.
Syria has registered just the one victory in its last five starts, a 1-0 win over North Korea.
The Syrians have a stunning 93 per cent completion rate on tackles, but beyond that haven’t moved the needle much from a statistical point of view - not being overly threatening in their attack on goal against Uzbekistan at this Asian Cup, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
We’re just 15 minutes away from kick-off.
Severely outnumbered here. Let’s go Australia! pic.twitter.com/4BMuThv5cj
— Bradley Jurd (@BradleyJurd) January 18, 2024
9.30PM: THREE CHANGES FOR SOCCEROOS
Graham Arnold has made three changes to the side which overcame India 2-0 last week, with goalscorer Jordan Bos set to start on the field alongside Cameron Burgess and Aiden O’Neill.
Keanu Baccus, Riley McGree and Craig Goodwin will all start on the bench, but you’d expect to see them on the park at some stage.
📋 Three changes to our line up for tonight’s match with Syria 👊
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) January 18, 2024
Cameron Burgess, Aiden O’Neill and Jordan Bos all start.
🇸🇾 v 🇦🇺 - 18.1.24, 10:30pm AEDT
📱💻📺 Live on Channel 10, Paramount+, 10 Play#SYRvAUS#Socceroos#AsianCup2023#DifferentBreedpic.twitter.com/6hJm0VPqRn
We’re now just an hour away from kick-off in Qatar.
EARLIER: Australia must make the most of their aerial superiority at the Asian Cup, coach Graham Arnold says, starting against Syria in their second game on Thursday.
The Socceroos began their campaign in Qatar with a 2-0 win over India on Saturday but had to wait until the 50th minute before Jackson Irvine broke the deadlock.
Australia have one of the tallest players in the tournament in 6-foot-6 (1.98m) defender Harry Souttar and Arnold wants to capitalise on their height advantage.
“Our set pieces were not great against India,” the coach said on Wednesday. “We had a lot of corners and that is probably one of our strengths. We just need to improve on those little things.”
Australia reached the last 16 at the World Cup just over a year ago in Qatar before bowing out to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina.
Arnold’s physically imposing side are among the contenders for the Asian Cup, and their clean sheet against India was their fourth in as many games.
Fullback Aziz Behich said Arnold had put the emphasis on “defending as a team”.
“When we press or when we’re in a block, we make sure we’re very compact and make it difficult for the opposition,” said Behich. “Especially since Arnie came in, we’ve improved on that a lot.”
Behich was part of the Australia team that won the 2015 Asian Cup on home soil, beating South Korea in the final.
The 33-year-old said he would “like to do it again” and believes they are capable of making it happen.
“We have got a great squad, we started the tournament with a win, it’s always important,” he said. “We’ve put India behind us now and our next challenge is Syria, so full focus on Syria.”
SOCCEROOS HISTORY AT THE ASIAN CUP
2007: Quarter-finalists
2011: Finalists
2015: Champions
2019: Quarter-finalists
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