The Group B winner will be decided on Tuesday at Al Janoud Stadium as Australia face Uzbekistan in their final Asian Cup affair before the knockout stage.

A narrow 1-0 victory over Syria on matchday two guarantees the Socceroos will feature in the round of 16, while Uzbekistan are two points behind them in second following a convincing 3-0 triumph versus India.

Match preview

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We saw a defensive masterclass from the Aussies on Thursday, holding the Syrians to just a single effort on target and ensuring they maintain their record of never missing the knockout portion of this tournament.

Along the back end, Australia have looked almost impenetrable without a goal conceded in their last six competitive fixtures while conceding only once in their previous seven matches in all competitions.

Graham Arnold's men need just a single point on Tuesday to finish top of their group for the first time since 2011, and with a victory on matchday two, they would finish the group portion of this tournament with a 100% record for the first time.

Australia have not been behind at the interval since narrowly losing their round of 16 clash with Argentina at the previous World Cup (2-1), conceding just once in the opening half of their last 10 competitive fixtures.

It has been over 18 months since anyone from Asia found the back of the net against them, with Jordan taking a 1-0 lead in a June 2022 friendly, though Australia came back to win that match 2-1.

The Socceroos are unbeaten in their four previous meetings versus Uzbekistan, failing to concede a single goal in any of those fixtures.

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Uzbekistan did not miss their scoring opportunities on matchday two after a frustrating opening game against a stubborn and well-organised Syrian side who kept them off the scoresheet.

It took the White Wolves a mere four minutes to take the lead against India, and they did not let up after that, holding a 3-0 advantage after 45 minutes and cruising to a comfortable triumph.

That victory will have Srecko Katanec feeling much better about their chances to advance to a sixth consecutive Asian Cup knockout stage, currently three points above Syria and an automatic place last 16, and a +3-goal differential, with the Syrians at -1.

Beating the Socceroos on matchday three would be historic for this side, and it would mean they end the opening phase of this competition as group winners for the first time since 2011.

That year was the last time they ended the group stage of this tournament without a defeat, and if they can keep Australia off the scoresheet on Tuesday, it would be the first time since 2004 that they end this stage of the tournament without conceding a single goal.

Like the Aussies, Uzbekistan are in terrific form at the moment, unbeaten in their last nine matches in all competitions, conceding just once in their previous four fixtures combined.

Team News

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Arnold made three changes to the Socceroos squad from matchday one to two, with Cameron Burgess, Aiden O'Neill and Jordan Bos coming into the starting 11 in place of Kye Rowles, Keanu Baccus and Craig Goodwin.

Martin Boyle collected his 25th cap on Thursday, O'Neill reached double-digits in that department, Mitchell Duke is now at 35 and Harry Souttar can reach 25 should he see the field in this match.

Jackson Irvine has netted in back-to-back games, scoring his 11th for the national team on matchday two, while Mathew Ryan only had to make one stop for his 32nd clean sheet with the Socceroos.

Katenec brought in three new faces to his starting 11 on Thursday as Sherzod Nasrullaev, Abbosbek Fayzullaev and Igor Sergeev replaced Rustam Ashurmatov, Khojiakbar Alijonov and Khojimat Erkinov.

Farrukh Sayfiev now has 50 international caps, Odiljon Hamrobekov is two away from reaching that milestone and Abdukodir Khusanov can reach double-digits for appearances on Tuesday.

Nasrullaev notched his first goal with the national team on matchday two, Fayzullaev scored the winner, his third internationally, while Sergeyev netted for the 19th time with the White Wolves, one fewer than Igor Shkvyrin for seventh all-time and Utkir Yusupov collected a clean sheet.

Australia possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Jones, Souttar, Rowles, Bos; McGree, Metcalfe, Irvine; Boyle, Yengi, Silvera

Uzbekistan possible starting lineup:
Yusupov; Alijonov, Khusanov, Eshmurodov, Sayfiev; Turgunboev, Shukurov, Erkinov, Masharipov; Abdikholikov, Sergeyev

We say: Australia 0-0 Uzbekistan

Four years ago, the Aussies beat the White Wolves in the last 16 on penalties after the match ended in a 0-0 draw, and given how sharp both sides have been defensively of late, we could be in for a similar outcome.

While first place is up for grabs, we do not expect to see a great sense of urgency from either team, with Australia ensured of a place in the last 16 and Uzbekistan looking likely to join them, barring a calamity by themselves and a sudden burst of goals from Syria.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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