Australia grind win over Syria but is Asian Cup task still steep?

“It’s about winning football matches,” said Jackson Irvine, fresh off scoring the goal that secured Australia a 1-0 win over Syria and progression through to the last 16 of the Asian Cup, said. “[It’s about] tournament mode, about clean sheets, scoring goals, winning games, and getting through to the next round.”

Indeed, winning football matches is what the Socceroos have headed to Qatar to do. Seven games, to be precise; coach Graham Arnold declaring before the tournament began that not only did he want to see his side achieve Asian dominance for the second time across the coming weeks, but he wanted them to do so while going coast-to-coast.

And while it hasn’t been pretty, they’re still on track to do that….