Socceroos v China, South Korea v Uzbekistan: coverage of Asian Cup 2015 quarter-finals, night one
IT’S that man again! Tim Cahill has scored twice to give Australia a 2-0 win over China. Re-live a huge night of quarter-final action here.
A stunning bicycle kick and a trademark header from Tim Cahill has inspired the Socceroos to a 2-0 win over China in their Asian Cup quarter-final in Brisbane on Thursday night.
After a nervous start by the hosts against a resilient Chinese outfit, it was 0-0 at the interval. But Ange Postecoglou’s side grew into the stanza to end up enjoying 71 per cent of the ball. Mathew Leckie forced keeper Dalei Wang into a save, while Mile Jedinak hit the side-netting as China sat deeper and deeper.
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But in the 48th minute, Cahill relieved any tension in the air with another extraordinary goal to add to his iconic catalogue of international strikes.
The corner flag copped another battering in the 65th minute, when he finished a Jason Davidson cross with trademark precision.
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Australia had further chances to extend the lead, but Wang stood tall, thwarting Leckie, Mark Milligan and Nathan Burns. It seals Australia’s passage to the Asian Cup semi-finals, where they’ll play either Japan or UAE in Newcastle on Tuesday night.
Earlier, South Korea squeezed past Uzbekistan in extra-time in a pulsating encounter in Melbourne.
Outstanding goalkeeping plus some dubious finishing meant the end-to-end encounter finished 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes, but Heung-Min Son scored an extra-time brace to see South Korea into the final four to face the winner of Iran’s clash with Iraq.
Re-live how the opening night of the Asian Cup quarter-finals unfolded in our live blog below.
Originally published as Socceroos v China, South Korea v Uzbekistan: coverage of Asian Cup 2015 quarter-finals, night one