Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bishkek: Australia beat hosts Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in their 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifying campaign opener at Dolen Omurzakov Stadium on Tuesday.
The AFC Asian Cup 2015 winners opened their account early in the game as skipper Mile Jedinak scored on two minutes.
Substitute Tommy Oar, who came on for Nathan Burns on 56 minutes, doubled the lead on 67 minutes but Azamat Baimatov brought it one down two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Ange Postecoglou’s Australia side will play their second match against Bangladesh while Kyrgyzstan, who started their campaign with a 3-1 win over Bangladesh five days earlier, take on Jordan on September 3.
The participating teams will compete according to a double round robin format, with the Round 2 qualification matches being held between June 11, 2015 and March 29, 2016.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
Photo: AFP