Australia knocked out of Asian Cup
Australia's defence of the Asian Cup came to an end when they lost 1-0 to UAE in Al Ain, with a gift of a goal.
Ali Mabkhout scored the only goal of the quarter-final at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium midway through the second half, seizing on a poor backpass from Milos Degenek.
He was able to skip around keeper Mat Ryan and fire into an empty net to send the hosts through to a semi-final clash with Qatar.
Degenek gave Ryan, who had been the hero of the Round of 16 victory against Uzbekistan with a pair of penalty saves, no chance to prevent the winning goal.
It was Mabkhout's fourth goal of the tournament, putting him joint-second on the scoring table.
Australia had more shots and more possession than the hosts but weren't able to capitalise.
Trent Sainsbury flashed an early header over the bar before Ryan was called into action, palming away Ismail Al Hamadi's effort following a rapid breakaway.
The Socceroos almost broke the deadlock when Jamie Maclaren had a goal-bound header cleared off the line by defender Fares Juma, with Apostolos Giannou then seeing a shot from from distance tipped away by keeper Khalid Eisa.
Mabkhout headed over from close range just before the break, after being left unmarked by the Socceroos defence.
Graham Arnold's side continued to threaten in the second half, with Hull City's Jackson Irvine heading narrowly wide before Apostolos Giannou had an effort ruled out for offside.
After Mabkhout netted for the hosts Australia had chances to get back on terms but Mathew Leckie headed over from a corner and Awer Mabil fired wide from the final chance of the game.
UAE are 6/1 to win the Asian Cup, with Iran 13/10 ahead of a quarter-final with Japan – currently 12/5 to lift the trophy.
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Australia's defence of the Asian Cup came to an end when they lost 1-0 to UAE in Al Ain, with a gift of a goal.
Ali Mabkhout scored the only goal of the quarter-final at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium midway through the second half, seizing on a poor backpass from Milos Degenek.
He was able to skip around keeper Mat Ryan and fire into an empty net to send the hosts through to a semi-final clash with Qatar.
Degenek gave Ryan, who had been the hero of the Round of 16 victory against Uzbekistan with a pair of penalty saves, no chance to prevent the winning goal.
It was Mabkhout's fourth goal of the tournament, putting him joint-second on the scoring table.
Australia had more shots and more possession than the hosts but weren't able to capitalise.
Trent Sainsbury flashed an early header over the bar before Ryan was called into action, palming away Ismail Al Hamadi's effort following a rapid breakaway.
The Socceroos almost broke the deadlock when Jamie Maclaren had a goal-bound header cleared off the line by defender Fares Juma, with Apostolos Giannou then seeing a shot from from distance tipped away by keeper Khalid Eisa.
Mabkhout headed over from close range just before the break, after being left unmarked by the Socceroos defence.
Graham Arnold's side continued to threaten in the second half, with Hull City's Jackson Irvine heading narrowly wide before Apostolos Giannou had an effort ruled out for offside.
After Mabkhout netted for the hosts Australia had chances to get back on terms but Mathew Leckie headed over from a corner and Awer Mabil fired wide from the final chance of the game.
UAE are 6/1 to win the Asian Cup, with Iran 13/10 ahead of a quarter-final with Japan – currently 12/5 to lift the trophy.
View all Soccer betting
Source: bet365.com
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