AL AIN, United Arab Emirates (REUTERS) - Defending champions Australia crashed out of the Asian Cup on Friday (Jan 25) when a contentious Ali Mabkhout goal earned hosts the United Arab Emirates a 1-0 victory and a semi-final meeting with Qatar next week.
Mabkhout struck midway through the second half after Milos Degenek under-hit a pass back to Mat Ryan, and the Al Jazira man swooped to round the goalkeeper and slot the ball into an empty net for his ninth goal in two Asian Cups.
The Australians complained Degenek had been fouled prior to giving away possession by Mohammed Abdulrahman, but Japanese referee Ryuji Sato waved away the protests and the goal stood.
Victory means Alberto Zaccheroni's side will move on to a potentially politically sensitive semi-final against their Arabian Gulf neighbours, who earlier stunned South Korea 1-0.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar in June 2017. The countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, which it denies.
The UAE's progress was vindication of Zaccheroni's decision to make five changes from the side that edged Kyrgyzstan in the previous round, with veteran striker Ismaeil Mattar making his first start of the tournament.
The home side who looked comfortable despite the changes and within a minute of kickoff almost took the lead. Ismail Al Hammadi flew through the Australian defence, but Ryan was equal to his goal-bound effort.
Al Hammadi threatened again 19 minutes later, with Ryan called into action again after the winger had stepped inside Australia's backline.
The Socceroos threatened, too, in an open and entertaining first half.
Trent Sainsbury looped an early header over the bar and Apostolos Giannou forced a save from Khalid Essa five minutes before the break.
Mabkhout, though, should have scored in the dying seconds of the half, only for his close range header to fizz over the crossbar.
He made amends after halftime when he capitalised on Degenek's poor pass to give his side the lead.
Australia coach Graham Arnold threw on strikers Awer Mabil and Andrew Nabbout in a last-ditch attempt to take the game into extra time. However, the UAE held firm to avenge their loss to the Socceroos in the semi-finals four years ago in Australia.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on February 03, 2019, with the headline 'Irving sends teaser with July 1 remark'. Print Edition | Subscribe.
The Teaser Video of Capt. Barrington Irving Flying with the U
Winks: Spurs players "fuming" at Wolves loss but denies "Spursy" tag Spurs players "fuming" at Wolves loss but denies "Spursy everyone is fuming. "Listen, when people say
Latest TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | The Straits Times
Football: Man United's Martial, Lingard to miss Chelsea, Liverpool matches MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Manchester United will be without Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard for Monday's FA Cup clash at Chelsea with both sidelined for up to three weeks after picking up injuries during Tuesday's Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
Manchester United's Martial Lingard to miss Chelsea Liverpool
Football News -LONDON (AFP) - Jurgen Klopp has vowed that Liverpool will remain positive as they battle for the Premier League title despite a wobble that has enabled Manchester City to seize the
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp - World
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/03/05/liverpool-staying-positive-despite-blip-says-klopp/
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp AFP March 5, 2019 AFP No Comments London (AFP) - Jurgen Klopp has vowed that Liverpool will remain positive as they battle for the Premier League title despite a wobble that has enabled Manchester City to seize the initiative.
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp -football
Spain wasteful but Enrique happy with chances created
Even as many believe Manchester City will maintain the lead on the table till their big win, Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Liverpool is ready to fight for the Premier League title, although he has described their title rivals, Man City, as 'the best team in the world'.
Football: Manchester City owners team with robot-makers to
Koscielny returns to plug gap at the back, Football News
£100m too cheap, but hard to keep hold of Hazard, admits
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney says missing out with three first-half goal chances made a "big difference" in the Ulster SFC semi-final replay defeat by Cavan. McGeeney rues missed Orchard
Solskjaer & Young rue missed chances in Arsenal defeat
Salah lauds 'unbelievable' Liverpool after Champions League glory Mohamed Salah scored the second quickest goal in the final of the modern Champions League to steer Liverpool to the Champions league crown on Saturday.
Salah lauds 'unbelievable' Liverpool after Champions League
LEICESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Newcastle took a huge step towards securing their Premier League survival as Ayoze Perez sealed a 1-0 win against Leicester on Friday (April 12).. Read more at
Perez heads Newcastle closer to Premier League safety
Football News: Two goals from Marko Arnautovic and Ryan Fredericks's first Premier League strike helped West Ham beat Southampton 3-0 at London Stadium on Saturday t
Arnautovic ends drought as West Ham sink Southampton
0 comments:
Post a Comment