The Socceroos were the beneficiaries of a contentious VAR decision as Martin Boyle’s penalty helped Australia to a 1-0 lead over Uzbekistan in the second half.
Graham Arnold’s side were awarded a spot kick after Uzbekistani midfielder Odiljon Hamrobekov was adjudged to have handled the ball inside his own box after going to ground.
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Kusini Yengi, making his first competitive start for the Socceroos, had twisted and turned his way past rival defenders before entering the box.
As the Portsmouth forward looked to cut the ball back, it rebounded off Hamrobekov’s left arm despite needing it to support him off the ground.
The incident was initially missed as the ball fell back to Yengi’s feet and he passed it straight to the wide-open Riley McGree, but he flashed his effort wide of the goal.
Before play could restart from a goal kick, the referee halted proceedings before being instructed to consult the pitchside monitor and deciding to award the penalty.
Uzbekistan coach Srečko Katanec also displayed his evident frustration, sarcastically clapping at the fourth official.
Boyle eventually stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake with his effort, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way as he scored his first goal at a tournament for the Socceroos on the stroke of half time.
It was a terribly harsh call on Uzbekistan as Channel 10 pundits Luke Wilshire and Alex Wilkinson were left in disbelief over the decision to award the penalty.
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“No player appealed for a penalty,” Wilkshire said.
“There is no way in the world that is intentional. Again, VAR raises its head and wants to be a deciding factor.”
Wilkinson added: I don’t know where they expect him to put his arm. It didn’t impact the path of the ball at all. For anyone who has played the game, watch the game, it is extremely harsh.”
Uzbekistan thought they had found the equaliser just before the hour mark when Umar Eshmurodov got on the end of a perfect free kick to head home past Mat Ryan.
However, Eshmurodov had timed his run a fraction too early as it was flagged for offside by the linesman and subsequently confirmed after a brief VAR check.
Earlier in the contest, Yengi thought he had his first international goal when he headed home Boyle’s ficked-on header from a deflected cross via Aziz Behich.
However, the Portsmouth striker’s moment of joy was cut short within seconds as the linesman raised his flag for offside.
It was the correct call as Boyle had strayed offside when Behich whipped in his cross.
TEAM NEWS
Australia: Ryan (c); Behich, Souttar, Rowles, Atkinson; Baccus, Irvine, McGree; Bos, Yengi, Boyle
Uzbekistan: Yusupov; Sayfiev, Ashurmatov, Eshmurodov, Abdullaev, Abidirakhmatov; Skurkurov (c), Xamrobekov, Urunov, Erkinov, Fayzullaev
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