Australia defeated Syria 1-0 on Thursday to maintain their perfect record in Group B, with midfielder Jackson Irvine scoring his second goal of the tournament to seal the victory.
After a scoreless first half, Irvine gave Australia the lead again, having scored the opening goal in their 2-0 victory over India in their first group game.
The victory lifted Australia up to six points, while Syria is third with one point from two games. Uzbekistan is second with four points after defeating India 3-0 on Thursday at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Syria had started on the front foot, cheered on by their fans, and the Middle Eastern side nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Pablo Sabbag hit the post.
However, Australia rapidly settled down and took control of the game, with the most of the action taking place in Syria’s half.
Jackson Irvine made no mistake in the 59th minute, collecting the ball on the spin inside the box and poking it past keeper Ahmad Madanieh to silence the Syrians, who made up the majority of the 10,097 fans at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Syria faces India in their last group match on Tuesday, while Australia faces Uzbekistan, who extended their unbeaten streak over India to seven games with an easy victory — their fifth in a row over the south Asian team.
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