DOHA: Striker Omar Khrbin came off the bench to emerge as the hero by scoring the only goal of the night as Syria beat India 1-0 to advance to the 2023 Asian Cup round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams at the Al Bayt Stadium here, yesterday.
The winning goal came in the 75th minute, marking a historic achievement for Qasioun Eagles as they advanced to the knockout stage for the first time in seven attempts, after finishing third in Group B.
India’s head coach Igor Stimac made strategic changes when he introduced midfielders Lallianzuala Chhangte and Deepak Tangri and reinforced the defensive line with the experienced Subhasish Bose.
The Blue Tigers initiated promisingly, with Mahesh Naorem’s attempt being pushed away by Syrian goalkeeper Ahmad Madanieh before Syria responded swiftly with a powerful header from forward Pablo Sabbag requiring a diving save from India’s Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
As the match progressed into the second half, both teams sought the elusive opening goal before Syria introduced the influential Khrbin off the bench.
Although his initial attempt was blocked by Bose, Syria seized the moment in the 75th minute when Khrbin unleashed a right-footed shot to the centre of the box that eluded Gurpreet’s reach, securing his 22nd goal for the national team.
Despite a late push from India in the remaining 10 minutes, they failed to level the score and concluded their Asian Cup campaign without a point and goalless.
In another Group B match at the Al Janoub Stadium, Australia claimed the top spot with seven points after a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan who secured five points to end the group stage in second place, just one point ahead of Syria.
In the clash, winger Azizbek Turgenbov’s late header in the 78th minute nullified Martin Boyle’s first-half penalty in injury time while Portsmouth striker Kusini Yengi’s 11th-minute goal was ruled out for offside.
Boyle converted a penalty after Odiljon Xamrobekov’s handball, confirmed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) thus putting the Socceroos on the brink of a third consecutive win before substitute Turgenbov levelled the score to secure a runner-up position for Srecko Katanec’s side.
The results mean Australia will face one of the third-placed finishers in the round of 16, while Uzbekistan is set to meet the runners-up in Group F and Syria to face the Group C winner. – BERNAMA
