Late winner as Aussies down Syria to go through

Tom Rogic's injury-time thunderbolt settled an Asian Cup thriller on Tuesday as defending champions Australia beat Syria 3-2 to reach the last 16 and knock out their war-torn rivals.

The result meant the holders finished second in Group B behind Jordan, whose simultaneous 0-0 draw with Palestine gave the Palestinians hope of qualifying as one of the best third-placed teams.

Syria, vocally backed by thousands of their fans in Al Ain, twice fought back from a goal behind before Rogic slammed home the winner in the third minute of injury time. Injury-hit Australia, with only six outfield players on the bench, needed just a draw to go through as they kicked off at the same time as Jordan against Palestine.

Syria looked an early threat before Australia started to get a grip on the game and Hibernian striker Jamie Maclaren flashed a header just wide.

There was drama on the half-hour when a Syrian free-kick bounced through a packed penalty area and into the net, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on Mark Milligan.

But Australia were getting close and Awer Mabil, after seeing one raking shot blocked, unleashed a fabulous effort which curled into the top corner four minutes before half-time.

However, the lead lasted just two minutes as Mouaiad Alajaan's cross picked out Omar Khrbin, who on his 25th birthday saw his header saved by Mat Ryan but then gobbled up the rebound.

On 54 minutes, Chris Ikonomidis's shot was hooked away by Omro Al Midani -- but the ball was judged to have crossed the line by the additional assistant referee, who was surrounded by Syrian players.

- Syria penalty -
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