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.
Inside Chelsea: Kepa row, Spurs blast - where it all went wrong for stubborn Sarri CHELSEA boss Maurizio Sarri is under pressure ahead of Wednesday's Premier League clash with Tottenham.
Solskjaer makes effort to talk to Callum Hudson-Odoi after
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 25, 2018, with the headline 'City must prove setback is temporary'. Print Edition | Subscribe.
PDF Frequently Asked Zoning Questions - City of Phoenix, AZ
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was fined Sh5.8 million (£45,000, $59,000) by the Football Association on Thursday for suggesting referee Kevin Friend had favoured West Ham in his side's 1-1 draw
Liverpool's Klopp fined over referee comments - Breitbart
Arsenal need Mesut Ozil - Unai Emery. Manager Unai Emery says Arsenal "need" Mesut Ozil and he will be in the squad for Saturday's Premier League match against Burnley at Emirates Stadium.
Mesut Özil's Arsenal future is in his own hands, says Unai
LONDON (REUTERS) - Gylfi Sigurdsson deepened Cardiff City's Premier League relegation fears with two well-taken goals in Everton's 3-0 victory in the Welsh capital on Tuesday (Feb 26).. Read more
Sigurdsson double helps Everton sink Cardiff | Free Malaysia
Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first clean sheet Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Fulham - St James Park, Newcastle, Britain - December 22, 2018 Fulhams Joe Bryan in action with Newcastle Uniteds Kenedy REUTERS/Scott Heppell (Reuters) - NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 FULHAM 0
Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first clean sheet
The graph compares the results of Tampines Rovers and Yangon United in AFC Cup. See also: Tampines Rovers vs Yangon United live score for In-Play soccer results. Hear sound alert whenever there is a goal or red card.
Tampines Rovers vs Yangon United football predictions
Qatar has stunned Japan and the football world to win a historic Asian Cup crown. Football world in shock over insane Asian Cup boilover. North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, South Korea, the
2019 Asian Cup: Son aims to continue golden period with South
90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent. The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully
High roller - Wikipedia
Top 10 Arizona high school running backs of all time I feel, shaped the landscape in Arizona. One of the greatest football families all-time in Arizona. Art and Benny both starred at
Gil Brandt's 25 greatest NFL running backs of all time
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been charged with misconduct following his sending-off against Burnley, the Football Association has announced on its official website. The Italian was sent off
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri charged with misconduct
0 comments:
Post a Comment