Syria, who are featuring in their sixth AFC Asian Cup, had never drawn at the Continental showpiece in their last 13 games - with a record of five wins and eight losses.

The Qasioun Eagles raced off the blocks at the Sharjah Stadium and came close to scoring in the opening minutes of the game but were often halted by a stout Palestine defence, who had Rami Hamada between the sticks.

It was the first point for Palestine in the Finals, having lost all group stage matches in their previous appearance in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Syria were the more dangerous as they dominated possession in the opening minutes of the game in front of a capacity crowd.

Omar Al Soma’s clever run down the left caught Palestine off guard and his cross found Omar Khrbin in the area but the 2017 AFC Player of the Year fired his effort wide.

Syria came into the game as heavy favourites with the likes of Omar Al Soma, Omar Khrbin and Mohammed Osman among their ranks.

But the Qasioun Eagles struggled in front of goal despite dominating possession for the most part of the match and were even playing with an extra man just after the hour mark.

Sunil Chhetri’s brace, along with goals from Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua, sealed the South Asian side’s first win in the competition's Finals since 1964 and saw them roar to the top of the Group A standings.

However, although clearly pleased with the impressive victory, Constantine remains adamant that his charges still have plenty of work to do if they are to qualify for the knockout phase.

The 30-year-old defender’s first-half header earned Vital Borkelmans’ side all three points against an Australia team that dominated possession throughout the 90 minutes but was unable to find a way past goalkeeper Amer Shafi.

Graham Arnold’s side spent much of the game camped in the Jordanian half, only for the West Asian nation to take a hard-earned win that will set them up perfectly for their next meeting with neighbours Syria on January 11.

The Palestinians weathered an avalanche of Syrian attacks to walk out of Sharjah Stadium with a valuable point to kick-start their continental campaign.

A string of excellent saves from Hamada and some resolute defending by coach Noureddine Ould Ali’s side saw Palestine deny Syria a win despite the 68th minute dismissal of defender Mohammed Saleh.

Shafi, who is representing his country at the tournament for a fourth time after playing in the Finals in 2004, 2011 and 2015, made several important saves as the Socceroos attempted to find a way to cancel out Anas Bani Yaseen’s first half header.

Graham Arnold’s team was unable to claim an equaliser as Jordan held on to record a historic result against the holders, and Borkelmans praised Shafi’s impact, not only between the posts but on the rest of the players in the team.