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DPA
Abu Dhabi
Australia were stunned 1-0 by Jordan in Al Ain on Sunday as the reigning Asian Cup champions made the worst possible start to their title defence.
Defender Anas Bani Yaseen headed the only goal midway through the first half to give Jordan the perfect opening to Group B. They top the table as Syria drew 0-0 with 10-man Palestine in Sharjah.
Australia improved after a poor first half but Awer Mabil hitting the post late on was as close as they came to an equaliser. They next face Palestine on Friday, a day after Jordan meet Syria.
Elsewhere, India ended a 55-year wait for their third win at the competition in spectacular fashion by thrashing Thailand 4-1 to top Group A. They next meet hosts UAE on Thursday while Thailand meet Bahrain.
Jordan, ranked 68 places below their opponents at 109th in the world, quickly settled into their game plan of sitting deep and breaking after Australia came unstuck in their compact defensive lines.
But it was a short corner, whipped in by Mousa Suleiman, which broke the deadlock in the 26th minute as Bani Yaseen’s header kissed the bar en route to the net with keeper Mat Ryan helpless.
Ryan kept his side in the tie moments later by touching Baha Abdel-Rahman’s free kick onto the bar after defender Trent Sainsbury, who endured a torrid half, was booked for hauling down Musa al Taamari.
Four years ago Australia had also fallen behind in their opening Asian Cup game to Kuwait but stormed back to win 4-1 and went on to lift the trophy. But on this occasion, badly missing the creativity of injured midfielder Aaron Mooy, they lacked inspiration and other than a penalty shout for handball, failed to threaten before half-time.
“We’ll go home and look at the footage,” coach Graham Arnold told broadcaster Fox Sports. “We had a number of good chances but not enough, so we’ll go and have a look where it went wrong and we’ll fix it quickly.
“It’s a wake up call, if you’re going to lose a game in the tournament it’s better to lose one in the group, and we’ll bounce back.”
Mabil manufactured half a yard of space at the edge of the box with 11 minutes remaining and rattled the post, though keeper Amer Shafi appeared to have it covered.
Jamie Maclaren was denied by the offside flag and the impressive Shafi, saving from Jackson Irvine and Chris Ikonomidis deep into added time ensured Jordan a historic victory – just their fifth ever at the Asian Cup.
The other group game brought a first Asian Cup point for Palestine in their second tournament appearance despite having Mohammed Saleh dismissed for a second yellow card with 20 minutes remaining.
Abu Dhabi
Australia were stunned 1-0 by Jordan in Al Ain on Sunday as the reigning Asian Cup champions made the worst possible start to their title defence.
Defender Anas Bani Yaseen headed the only goal midway through the first half to give Jordan the perfect opening to Group B. They top the table as Syria drew 0-0 with 10-man Palestine in Sharjah.
Australia improved after a poor first half but Awer Mabil hitting the post late on was as close as they came to an equaliser. They next face Palestine on Friday, a day after Jordan meet Syria.
Elsewhere, India ended a 55-year wait for their third win at the competition in spectacular fashion by thrashing Thailand 4-1 to top Group A. They next meet hosts UAE on Thursday while Thailand meet Bahrain.
Jordan, ranked 68 places below their opponents at 109th in the world, quickly settled into their game plan of sitting deep and breaking after Australia came unstuck in their compact defensive lines.
But it was a short corner, whipped in by Mousa Suleiman, which broke the deadlock in the 26th minute as Bani Yaseen’s header kissed the bar en route to the net with keeper Mat Ryan helpless.
Ryan kept his side in the tie moments later by touching Baha Abdel-Rahman’s free kick onto the bar after defender Trent Sainsbury, who endured a torrid half, was booked for hauling down Musa al Taamari.
Four years ago Australia had also fallen behind in their opening Asian Cup game to Kuwait but stormed back to win 4-1 and went on to lift the trophy. But on this occasion, badly missing the creativity of injured midfielder Aaron Mooy, they lacked inspiration and other than a penalty shout for handball, failed to threaten before half-time.
“We’ll go home and look at the footage,” coach Graham Arnold told broadcaster Fox Sports. “We had a number of good chances but not enough, so we’ll go and have a look where it went wrong and we’ll fix it quickly.
“It’s a wake up call, if you’re going to lose a game in the tournament it’s better to lose one in the group, and we’ll bounce back.”
Mabil manufactured half a yard of space at the edge of the box with 11 minutes remaining and rattled the post, though keeper Amer Shafi appeared to have it covered.
Jamie Maclaren was denied by the offside flag and the impressive Shafi, saving from Jackson Irvine and Chris Ikonomidis deep into added time ensured Jordan a historic victory – just their fifth ever at the Asian Cup.
The other group game brought a first Asian Cup point for Palestine in their second tournament appearance despite having Mohammed Saleh dismissed for a second yellow card with 20 minutes remaining.
