Richard Michael
DeanoHarmoAsian Cup - Socceroos Through to Quarter-Finals
July 16th 2007 14:51
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Rumours of Australia's death were proved to be greatly exaggerated when the Socceroos bounced back in fine style with a 4-0 victory over Thailand at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.
Coach Graham Arnold, the subject of considerable scrutiny in the lead-up to the match, made a number of changes to the squad; and it was one of those players, David Beauchamp, who put the Australians in front with a fine header after 20 minutes.
Thailand came out fighting after the half-time break, and for the next half hour had the better of play. But the equaliser didn't come, and against the run of play Mark Viduka landed an 80th minute special. Another followed 3 minutes later to make the game safe, while Harry Kewell's effort on 89 minutes put the icing on the cake.
With Iraq and Oman in the other Group A match playing a scoreless draw, Australia finishes 2nd in Group A and will travel to Hanoi to take on Japan on Saturday. Kick off will be at 8:20pm Sydney time on Saturday.
Australia's last clash against Japan was one to remember, that classic opening to the World Cup last year. But this Japan side will be a tough side to beat, and showed some good form to defeat Vietnam 4-1 after conceding an early goal. In the other Group B match, United Arab Emirates defeated Qatar 2-1. Japan finished top in Group B, with Vietnam finishing 2nd.
Australia 4 (Michael Beauchamp 21, Mark Viduka 80, 83, Harry Kewell 90) d Thailand 0
Iraq 0 drew Oman 0
Group A Standings (Final) - Iraq 5 ( 2), Australia 4 ( 2), Thailand 3 (-2), Oman 2 (-2). Iraq and Australia progress to quarter-finals
Japan 4 (Yasuhito Endo 32, Shunsuke Nakamura 53, Seiichiro Maki 12, 59) d Vietnam 1 (Keita Suzuki 8)
United Arab Emirates 2 (Saeed Alkas 59, Faisal Khalil 90) d Qatar 1 (Sebastian Quintana 42)
Group B Standings (Final) - Japan 7 ( 5), Vietnam 4 (-1), United Arab Emirates 3 (-3), Qatar 2 (-1) Japan and Vietnam progress to quarter-finals
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Coach Graham Arnold, the subject of considerable scrutiny in the lead-up to the match, made a number of changes to the squad; and it was one of those players, David Beauchamp, who put the Australians in front with a fine header after 20 minutes.
Thailand came out fighting after the half-time break, and for the next half hour had the better of play. But the equaliser didn't come, and against the run of play Mark Viduka landed an 80th minute special. Another followed 3 minutes later to make the game safe, while Harry Kewell's effort on 89 minutes put the icing on the cake.
Australia's last clash against Japan was one to remember, that classic opening to the World Cup last year. But this Japan side will be a tough side to beat, and showed some good form to defeat Vietnam 4-1 after conceding an early goal. In the other Group B match, United Arab Emirates defeated Qatar 2-1. Japan finished top in Group B, with Vietnam finishing 2nd.
Australia 4 (Michael Beauchamp 21, Mark Viduka 80, 83, Harry Kewell 90) d Thailand 0
Iraq 0 drew Oman 0
Group A Standings (Final) - Iraq 5 ( 2), Australia 4 ( 2), Thailand 3 (-2), Oman 2 (-2). Iraq and Australia progress to quarter-finals
Japan 4 (Yasuhito Endo 32, Shunsuke Nakamura 53, Seiichiro Maki 12, 59) d Vietnam 1 (Keita Suzuki 8)
United Arab Emirates 2 (Saeed Alkas 59, Faisal Khalil 90) d Qatar 1 (Sebastian Quintana 42)
Group B Standings (Final) - Japan 7 ( 5), Vietnam 4 (-1), United Arab Emirates 3 (-3), Qatar 2 (-1) Japan and Vietnam progress to quarter-finals
Pics from SportingDaily.net archives
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