Australia reach Asian Cup last 16, Uzbekistan beat India

Australia beat Syria 1-0 to qualify for the Asian Cup last 16 as they maintained their perfect record in Group B on Thursday.

Midfielder Jackson Irvine came to the rescue once again with his second goal of the tournament.

After a goalless first half, Irvine once again gave Australia the lead, having scored the opening goal in their 2-0 win over India in their first group game.

The victory moved 2015 champions Australia to six points while Syria are third with one point from two games.

Uzbekistan are second with four points after they thumped India 3-0 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.

Syria face India in their final group match on Tuesday while Australia play Uzbekistan, who extended their unbeaten record over India to seven games - their fifth in a row against the South Asian side.

Goals from Abbosbek Fayzullaev and Igor Sergeyev gave Uzbekistan a 2-0 lead inside 18 minutes as they capitalised on India's sloppy defending.

Sherzod Nasrullaev added a third in first-half added time when he tapped in from his own rebound off the post to put the game out of reach.