Australia stormed into their first Asian Cup final with a 6-0 thrashing of 10-man Uzbekistan to set up a decider against three-time champions Japan. Forward Harry Kewell got the opener on five minutes and Asian player of the year Sasa Ognenovski doubled their lead 11 minutes before half-time.
Blackpool’s David Carney put the game beyond doubt on 65 minutes and when Uzbek striker Ulugbek Bakaev was sent off soon after, the match was over. Australia started running riot, with Blackburn Rovers’ Brett Emerton getting a fourth, Carl Valeri a fifth and Robbie Kruse a sixth as the shell-shocked Uzbeks went to pieces.
The Socceroos have a big task ahead with Japan awaiting them on Saturday after winning a penalty shoot-out 3-0 over South Korea. Uzbekistan must now lift themselves for a third-place play-off on Friday, with an automatic qualification place for the 2015 event at stake for the winner.
Ecstatic Australian coach
“We had a brilliant game,” said Australia’s German coach Holger Osieck. “The players put on a great show and I’m full of praise for them. It was fantastic.
“The secret for victory is the way we presented ourselves on the pitch. We had great shape, we played up and tried to create chances. We were very attack-oriented.”
Shell-shocked Uzbeks apologise
Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramov has apologised for his team’s annihilation by Australia, and vowed to lift them for the third-place play-off. Despite a lowly-world ranking of 108, Abramov taunted Australia before the game by saying they were no Brazil, but his words came back to haunt him.
“I’m very sorry for the people who came to the stadium and also the supporters in Uzbekistan,” said Abramov. “The way we played, I cannot describe it. We were prepared but we played badly, this is a big problem, we made too many mistakes.
“I don’t know what happened.”
Lee considers quitting
South Korea veteran Lee Young-Pyo has hinted he is ready to retire from international football after his side went out of the Asian Cup, but captain Park Ji-Sung remained tight-lipped about his future. “I will talk about it after the third-place game, but I’ve already made up my mind,” said the 33-year-old left-back.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2011.
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