Australia are placed atop the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Group B points table following a 2-0 victory over India in their season opener of the competition on Saturday (January 13). They have three points and a goal difference of two.
Meanwhile, India are placed at the bottom of the standings, courtesy of a loss against the mighty Australians. The Men in Blue have a negative score difference of -2.
Sriya and Uzbekistan are the two other nations competing in Group B of the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Both sides will play their first match of the competition when they face each other on Saturday (January 13) at 8:00 pm IST.
AFC Asian Cup 2023: India lose 0-2 to Australia
Australia defeated India 2-0 in a Group B encounter of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 on Saturday (January 13). The match was held at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar.
The Indian team were too good with defense in the first half, denying all of Australia's opportunities. However, they couldn't find enough chances for themselves, resulting in the scoreline reading 0-0 at half-time.
Coming back into the second half with both teams yet to find the back of the net. It didn't take too long for Australia as Jackson Irvine (50') put one past goalkeeper Gurjeet Singh Sandhu.
The Indian goalkeeper had stepped forward to punch the ball away from the penalty box but ended up playing the ball to Jackson, who found the back of the net. Nikhil Poojary, who was at the goal line also couldn't do much to stop the ball, resulting in Australia taking a 1-0 lead.
In the 73rd minute, Jordan Bos scored the second goal for Australia, following a pass from Riley McGree. The latter played the ball into the penalty area, allowing Bos to get his name on the scoresheet.
Jordan made no mistake as he tapped the ball into the open section of the net with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, not on guard. Once again, it was Nikhil Poojary who was close to the ball but couldn't do much either.
With no further action in the game, the Socceroos emerged victories and took home three full points.