Australia draws 1-1 with Uzbekistan 1st place in group and advance to round of 16

Australia's Martin Boyle scores a penalty kick

'Socceroo' Australia drew with Uzbekistan, finished the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup group stage undefeated, and advanced to the round of 16 as first place in the group.

Australia drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan in the final match of Group B of the tournament held at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar on the 23rd (Korean time).

Australia (7 points), who had already confirmed their advancement to the round of 16 in the second game of the group stage, confirmed first place in the group with an undefeated streak of 2 wins and 1 draw.

Australia, the 2015 champion, will face the third-place team in Group A/C/D in the round of 16.

Uzbekistan also recorded 1 win, 2 draws (5 points), advanced to the round of 16 in 2nd place in its group, and will compete with 2nd place in Group F to advance to the quarterfinals.

The two teams faced off tightly from the beginning for the first place in the group.

In the 11th minute of the first half, Australia's Kushini Yengi's header from a cross from the left side hit the net, but Martin Boyle, who had contested the header just before, was called offside and the goal was cancelled.

In the 41st minute of the first half, Relay McGree's left-footed shot from a cutback given by Yan Qi after digging into the left side of the penalty area ended up slightly missing the right goal post.

However, as a result of video review (VAR), it was determined that the ball touched the hand during a tackle by Uzbekistan's Odi Jonham Obekov just before Yengi's cutback, and the referee directly declared a penalty kick through an 'on-field review'.

Australia ended the first half with a 1-0 score as Boyle scored a penalty kick in extra time in the first half with a right-footed shot.

Uzbekistan's counterattack began as the second half began, and in the 15th minute of the second half, Umarbek Eshmurodov headed the ball forward from a free kick situation and scored a goal, but the opportunity to tie was lost as offside was declared.

Uzbekistan, who had focused on chasing a goal, finally succeeded in a 1-1 draw in the 33rd minute of the second half when Azizbek Turgunboev scored an equalizer with a header from the front of the goal area following Zorridin Masharipov's cross from the left side.

Syria's Omar Karibin celebrates after scoring the winning goal

Syria, in the same group, defeated India 1-0 in the final match of the third group match held at Al-Bait Stadium in Al Khor on this day.

Syria, which secured 4 points with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss, beat India (0 points), which suffered 3 losses, and took 3rd place in the group, securing an advantageous position to advance to the round of 16.

Syria, which finished the first half scoreless, ended its 1-0 win in the 33rd minute of the second half when, during a counterattack, Ibrahim Hesar gave up a cutback from the left side of the penalty area and Omar Karbin hit the net with a right-footed shot from the front of the penalty area. 고스톱