It wasn’t the prettiest of performances but the Socceroos got the job done as a 1-0 victory over Syria secured a spot in the knockout stages for Graham Arnold’s side.
Jackson Irvine’s second goal in as many games was the difference in a contest that lacked clear-cut chances for both teams.
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MATCH WRAP: Socceroos seal spot in Asian Cup knockout stages as Aussie star’s strike sinks plucky minnows
Mat Ryan – 5.5
The Socceroos skipper had hearts in mouths in he fumbled a long-range strike from Moayad Ajan which dipped and swerved in the air.
Although Ryan stopped it initially, the ball looked for a brief moment it would trickle over the line before the Aussie gloveman palmed the ball to safety.
It was an uncharacteristic from the ever-reliable Ryan who didn’t have much else to do for the vast majority of the contest.
Aziz Behich – 6
Behich was once again solid without being spectacular.
Showed plenty of heart in the dying minutes of the clash to produce one last lung-busting run up the left flank, although it amounted to little.
Harry Souttar – 6.5
An improved performance from the towering defender, with his long-range diagonal passes once again a sight to behold.
Souttar also delivered with some crucial last-ditch sliding challenges to snuff out Syrian attacks.
The Leicester City man also could have had one of the great goals or assists, galloping with the ball from deep inside his own half all the way to the edge of Syria’s box, only for Kusini Yengi to fumble the cross.
Cameron Burgess – 5.5
Started in place of Kye Rowles, likely due to the 10cm height advantage he has on the Hearts centre back.
Burgess put in a dependable performance although he had one shaky moment when he won the ball but managed to pass it straight across the face of goal into the path of a Syrian forward.
Gethin Jones – 4.5
Jones may have two competitive fixtures under his belt for the Socceroos, but so far he has struggled to show why he deserves to start over the likes of Lewis Miller and Nathaniel Atkinson.
The Welsh-born right back offered little going forward and made a number of careless passes that gifted Syria a golden opportunity to counter-attack.
Although he’s been part of a defensive unit that’s kept two consecutive clean sheets, Jones is no guarantee to start the Socceroos’ final Group B encounter against Uzbekistan.
Aiden O’Neill – 5.5
Came into the side in place of Keanu Baccus and put in a commendable shift, although he did seem a little hesitant to turn on the ball and look to play it forward.
Perhaps O’Neill would’ve felt more comfortable if not for an awfully odd booking, receiving a yellow card despite winning the foul for which he was supposedly at fault for.
Came off for Keanu Baccus in the 57th minute.
Jackson Irvine – 6
Irvine scored his second goal in as many matches, with this one perhaps feeling the more vital of the two as it helped ease the Socceroos fears and stretched the game a little.
Aside from the goal, Irvine was driving from box-to-box and was industrious for the entire 90 minutes.
Connor Metcalfe – 5
The St. Pauli midfielder was largely anonymous for the time he was on the field, operating as a No. 7 predominantly on the right side of the field.
Came off in the 57th minute for Riley McGree.
Jordan Bos – 6.5
Handed a starting berth after scoring with his first touch against India last time out, Bos was placed at left wing.
Bos looked dangerous in the early stages and was happy to drive at Syria’s backline, but his attacking output slowed after he was swapped over to the right wing in an interesting tactical ploy from Arnold.
His willingness to take on opposition defenders and play give-and-go passes with teammates made him a dangerous prospect and will be a useful asset as the tournament goes on.
Came off in the 57th minute for Sammy Silvera.
Mitchell Duke – 5
Once again, Duke put in a shift up front but it was largely spent without the ball at his feet.
And when his teammates did play the ball into his feet, Duke’s control and first touch was questionable, often gifting possession straight back to Syria.
Came off for Bruno Fornaroli in the 78th minute,
Martin Boyle – 5.5
Boyle’s delightful assist for Jackson Irvine’s goal was the only bright spot of an otherwise below-par performance from the Hibernian flyer.
He nutmegged his marker out on the right wing before driving towards goal, with the ball pinballing in the box and eventually falling to Irvine who poked home.
Outside of the assist, Boyle was a little careless in possession and struggled to beat his opposite marker when faced with one-on-one situations.
Came off for Kusini Yengi in the 83rd minute.
SUBSTITUTES
Sammy Silvera – 5.5
Came on for Jordan Bos in the 57th minute.
Tasked with running a tired Syrian backline ragged, Silvera never seemed to click into gear and lost the ball a handful of times.
He was also booked for a high challenge late in the second half.
Riley McGree – 7
Came on for Connor Metcalfe in 57th minute.
Once again, McGree was the creative spark in the second half that helped the Socceroos drive forward.
Granted, McGree’s attacking work came after Irvine’s goal, which meant Syria had to open up a little more and thus providing the Middlesbrough midfielder with more space to operate in.
But there’s a direct correlation between McGree being on the field and the Aussies looking more dangerous.
There will be plenty of chatter about McGree needing to start against Uzbekistan and aside from a potential need to keep him fresh for the knockout stages, it’s hard to argue against his inclusion in the starting lineup.
Keanu Baccus – 7
Came on for Aiden O’Neill in 57th minute.
Baccus was perhaps the Socceroos’ unsung hero in the second half, coming on at the base of midfield and snuffing out several Syrian attacks.
The St. Mirren man made four tackles, the equal-most among the Socceroos alongside Jones, in the 33 minutes he was on the field for.
Baccus’ tackles also helped spark the Socceroos’ trademark counter-attacks forward too.
Bruno Fornaroli – 5
Came on for Mitchell Duke in 78th minute.
Fornaroli didn’t get much of a sniff at goal, coming closest to scoring his first at international level when a Jones cross didn’t quite have enough bend on it for the Victory star to get a foot to it.
Was relatively anonymous for the time he was on the pitch.
Kusini Yengi – 5
Came on for Martin Boyle in 83rd minute.
Offered a physical presence for the Socceroos up front and used his body well when positioning himself to bring down the ball out of the air.
But found himself drifting wider than he typically would have liked and, like Fornaroli, made little impact after coming on.