2023 AFC Asian Cup Group B
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Group B of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup took place from 13 to 23 January 2024.[1] The group consisted of Australia, Uzbekistan, Syria and India.[2] The top two teams, Australia and Uzbekistan, along with third-place Syria (as one of the four best third-placed teams), advanced to the round of 16.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  Uzbekistan |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 |  Syria |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 |  India |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
Matches
Australia vs India
This was the first time in 13 years that these two teams had faced each other, as their last meeting had been in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, which saw Australia beat India with a scoreline of 4–0. Australia had not lost to India in 68 years.
After a scoreless first half, an attempt to punch the ball away from Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saw the ball intercepted by Jackson Irvine, who scored Australia's opening goal to break the deadlock despite Gurpreet's effort to block it in the 50th minute. At the 72nd minute, Riley McGree pulled a phase to overcome Lalengmawia Ralte before delivering the decisive pass for Jordan Bos, who then scored in the almost empty net to secure Australia's 2–0 win.
In personal record, it was the first time Graham Arnold managed to win the opening fixture as coach of Australia (1D, 2L), after failing to do so back in the 2007 and 2019 AFC Asian Cups as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
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Uzbekistan vs Syria
This was the second time that these teams had met in the Asian Cup, having met before in 1996 with Syria emerging victorious among the two after a 2–1 win against Uzbekistan. Their most recent fixture had been a friendly in 2020 where the Syrians beat the Uzbeks 1–0 while their most recent competitive fixture occurred during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, which also ended with Syria winning against Uzbekistan by the same scoreline.
The match was largely dominated by Uzbekistan, but neither Uzbekistan nor Syria could score a goal in this match, with the closest attempt being the surprise goal of Ibrahim Hesar, which was later disallowed for being offside.
| Uzbekistan | 0–0 | Syria |
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Syria vs Australia
This was the second straight match between these two teams as they had also faced each other in the previous edition of the Asian Cup, with Australia beating Syria 3–2 to send themselves through to the knockout stage and eliminate the Syrians. Syria had never managed to beat their Southeast Asian counterpart in three past meetings.
Australia immediately tried to apply early pressure, but it was Syria that got the closest opportunity to score when from a long-range pass by Abdul Rahman Weiss, Ibrahim Hesar captured in Australia's penalty area and sent the ball to Pablo Sabbag, whose shot later hit the left post at the 5th minute. In the 17th minute, Jackson Irvine tried his luck with a header from a set-piece but it went wild as Australia increasingly became more dominant, but they failed to score. Syria, however, suddenly sped up in the final minutes of the first half but they could not convert it. At the second half, in the 59th minute, from Gethin Jones's pass, Martin Boyle made an effort to solo over Syrian defenders, but while his last pass ended up hitting Jalil Elías, it deflected wide enough for Irvine as he pierced the ball over Ahmad Madania to score the only goal of the match; despite Syrian fightback, notably a long-range firing from Moayad Ajan at the 68th minute that saw Mathew Ryan almost fail to hold, Australia went on to assert their domination at the later minutes but they could not score as the result was settled in favour for the Australians.
It was the third consecutive match in which Australia defeated Syria by a one-goal margin.
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India vs Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan had never lost against India, with their most recent fixture being played 22 years ago as part of the 2001 Merdeka Tournament. In competitive fixtures, the last time they met was in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification, where Uzbekistan beat India 3–2.
Uzbekistan got off to an advantageous start at the fourth minute when in an offensive effort, Sherzod Nasrullaev provided a clinical high pass for Otabek Shukurov, whose header provided for Abbosbek Fayzullaev saw Fayzullaev score a goal. Uzbekistan improved at the 18th minute when a clumsy coordination by Indian defenders allowed Fayzullaev to pull a phase on India's right flank, which delivered a nearly lethal low pass that hit the foot of Akash Mishra. Although the ball hit the right post, Igor Sergeev was quick to sink the ball into the goal. Uzbekistan then completed the game in the first half when Jaloliddin Masharipov himself put a solo over the Indians from the midfield before sending wide; despite being cleared, it was intercepted by Oston Urunov, whose pass for Farrukh Sayfiev proved decisive as Sayfiev's high pass this time for Nasrullaev saw his shot initially hit the right post, but then deflect back to Nasrullaev, allowing him to score a goal and end the game with a 3-0 victory for Uzbekistan.
With this defeat, it marked the fourth consecutive match India could not score at the AFC Asian Cup, while in personal record, Srečko Katanec won his third competitive fixture, all in the AFC Asian Cup, after two previous wins over Vietnam and Yemen back in the 2019 edition.
| India | 0–3 | Uzbekistan |
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Australia vs Uzbekistan
This was the third time that these two teams met in this tournament with their recent fixture being in the round of 16 of the last edition of the Asian Cup, in which Australia beat Uzbekistan in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw to send the Australians into the last eight and eliminate the Uzbeks. Australia had never lost against Uzbekistan in all four previous encounters, which included a 6–0 victory when both nations met in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, held at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
Although Australia had confirmed their place at the knockout stage with a game to spare, they still opted to bring some veterans, notably Mathew Ryan and Harry Souttar, into the encounter. In the 41st minute, in a chaotic ball fight in Uzbekistan's defense area, Kusini Yengi made his effort to solo over before his ball touched the hand of Odiljon Hamrobekov; VAR later confirmed it as a penalty and Martin Boyle clinically scored to give Australia the lead at the first minute of extra time. However, as the Australians loosened their focus, an offensive by the Uzbeks saw Jaloliddin Masharipov send the ball wide enough for Azizbek Turgunboev to score a header in the 78th minute, as both teams were satisfied with a draw that secured their progression.
In personal record, Graham Arnold had not beaten Uzbekistan as a coach (D2). At the same time, Turgunboev's header meant it was the first time in five attempts that Uzbekistan managed to score against Australia. Interestingly, Australia had never collected nine points in all of their AFC Asian Cup participation. In personal record however, it was the first time Graham Arnold managed to lead his team to top the group stage table, having never done so back in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, 2019 AFC Asian Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup.
| Australia | 1–1 | Uzbekistan |
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Syria vs India
The most recent fixture between these two teams had been in 2019 when they tied in a 1–1 draw during the 2019 Intercontinental Cup. Syria managed to defeat India on just two occasions, while India had not lost against Syria in 15 years. However, this was the first time Syria and India were to face each other in any competitive fixture.
The match was mostly dominated by Syria, but India's resistance left the Syrians frustrated for most of time as India kept staying in line. However, from a failed Indian attack, the Syrians launched a counterattack, resulting in a long-range pass by Jalil Elías to Alaa Al Dali, then again to Omar Khribin before his pass for Ibrahim Hesar was capitalised upon when Hesar's clinical low pressure pass saw Khribin score a goal despite the efforts of Indian defenders to prevent it, giving Syria a historic win.
With this result, combined with the other group's results, this meant for the first-time ever in the history of the Asian Cup that Syria had advanced past the group stages, having failed to do so in the six previous editions they had participated in. For India, this meant that the Indians had a distressing record, failing to score a single goal in five consecutive Asian Cup matches.
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