Ajdin Hurstick fired a late winner to beat Australia 2-1 over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and see Australia in the final showdown for this year’s spot. World Cup in Qatar.
A deflected volley from Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hurstik in the 84th minute decided the Asian zone’s clash at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, which will host seven matches at the World Cup in November.
More than 4,000 Emirates fans made up more than half the crowd at a 40,000-capacity stadium in the Doha suburbs, where players were blasted with air conditioning to keep evening temperatures down.
Australia, who will take on Peru at the same stadium on 13 June, in their quest to qualify for a fifth consecutive final, struggled to gain the upper hand and coach Graham Arnold said they need to exceed their players in the next match. hopefully.
“I’m 50 percent happy with the team. I think there’s still a lot to improve,” Arnold said.
The coach, who said before the game that “Australian psychic power” would get him, when he challenged the players back to the dressing room to see if they could give more, “will all agree”.
Nineteen-year-old forward Harib Al-Mazmi, who won the United Arab Emirates’ surprise 1-0 win over South Korea that propelled them into this playoff, was a constant nuisance to the Australian defense in the first half.
His left wing run after 18 minutes took him to within three meters of goal, but he could not take a shot and was strangled by the Australian defence.
The Shabab Al Ahly winger beat the Australian defense again 10 minutes before the break but Socceros goalkeeper Matthew Ryan somehow added to his effort.
Four minutes into the second half, Al-Mazmi again forced Ryan into a low save, before Jackson Irvine put Australia ahead.
Martin Boyle stole the ball on the right wing, drove it into the penalty area and Irvine, who plays for German second-division side St Pauli, tapped the pass post.
Australia barely had time to taste their goal when Al-Mazmi found a place again. His cross was broken by Brazil’s Caio Canedo, who first obtained an East Timor passport and then qualified for the UAE in 2020, blasting home from close range.
Play progressed to extra time when Hurstick found the ball from a corner that was only half clear and his left foot strike took a large deflection to find the net.
The UAE were only trying to qualify for the World Cup for the second time since their debut in 1990. Their Argentine coach, Rodolfo Arruberena, said the UAE players “lacked the stamina in the last 15 minutes” to continue their fight.
New Zealand will take on Costa Rica in Doha on June 14 to decide the final qualifiers for the tournament starting on November 21.
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