2023 AFC Asian Cup Group B

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-placed Syria (as one of the four best third-placed teams), advanced to the round of 16.

Teams

Draw position	Team	Zone	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA Rankings
								April 2023 [nb 1]	December 2023
B1	Australia	AFF	Second round Group B winners	11 June 2021	5th	2019	Winners (2015)	29	25
B2	Uzbekistan	CAFA	Third round Group C winners	14 June 2022	8th	2019	Fourth place (2011)	74	68
B3	Syria	WAFF	Second round Group A winners	7 June 2021	7th	2019	Group stage (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019)	90	91
B4	India	SAFF	Third round Group D winners	14 June 2022	5th	2019	Runners-up (1964)	101	102

Notes

1. The rankings of April 2023 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	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

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Matches

All match times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Australia vs India

This was the first time in 13 years that these two teams faced each other as their last meeting was way back in 2011 also in the Asian Cup which saw the Australia beat India with a scoreline of 4–0. Australia haven't lost to India in 68 years.

After a scoreless first half, a reckless 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 72th 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.

13 January 2024 (2024-01-13)

14:30

Australia	2–0	India
Irvine 50' Bos 73'	Report

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 36,253

Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)

Australia

India

GK 1 Mathew Ryan (c) RB 25 Gethin Jones CB 19 Harry Souttar CB 4 Kye Rowles LB 16 Aziz Behich DM 17 Keanu Baccus  82' DM 22 Jackson Irvine RW 6 Martin Boyle  63' AM 8 Connor Metcalfe  64' LW 23 Craig Goodwin  72' CF 15 Mitchell Duke  72' Substitutions: FW 7 Samuel Silvera  63' MF 14 Riley McGree  64' DF 5 Jordan Bos  72' FW 9 Bruno Fornaroli  72' MF 13 Aiden O'Neill  82' Manager: Graham Arnold

GK 1 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu RB 21 Nikhil Poojary CB 5 Sandesh Jhingan CB 2 Rahul Bheke LB 3 Subhasish Bose  75' DM 25 Deepak Tangri  79' DM 19 Lalengmawia Ralte RW 9 Manvir Singh AM 8 Suresh Singh Wangjam  74' LW 17 Lallianzuala Chhangte  89' CF 11 Sunil Chhetri (c)  89' Substitutions: MF 12 Liston Colaco  74' DF 6 Akash Mishra  75' MF 7 Anirudh Thapa  79' FW 24 Vikram Partap Singh  89' MF 14 Naorem Mahesh Singh  90+4'  89' Manager: Igor Štimac

Man of the Match: Craig Goodwin (Australia) Assistant referees: Makoto Bozono (Japan) Naomi Teshirogi (Japan) Fourth official: Yusuke Araki (Japan) Reserve assistant referee: Jun Mihara (Japan) Video assistant referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan) Assistant video assistant referees: Jumpei Iida (Japan)

Uzbekistan vs Syria

Both these teams met each other just for the second time in this competition, having met before in 1996 with Syria emerging as victorious among the two after a 2–1 win against Uzbekistan. Their recent fixture was 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, also ended with Syria won against Uzbekistan by the same scoreline.

The match was largely dominated by Uzbekistan, but neither Uzbekistan and Syria could score a goal in this match, with the closest attempt was the surprise goal of Ibrahim Hesar, which was later disallowed for offside.

13 January 2024 (2024-01-13)

20:30

Uzbekistan	0–0	Syria
	Report

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 10,198

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Uzbekistan

Syria

GK 1 Utkir Yusupov CB 25 Abdukodir Khusanov  54' CB 5 Rustam Ashurmatov CB 15 Umar Eshmurodov RM 3 Khojiakbar Alijonov  46' CM 9 Odiljon Hamrobekov CM 7 Otabek Shukurov LW 4 Farrukh Sayfiev RW 10 Jaloliddin Masharipov (c)  73' CF 11 Oston Urunov  90' LW 20 Khojimat Erkinov  46' Substitutions: FW 22 Abbosbek Fayzullaev  46' DF 13 Sherzod Nasrullaev  46' FW 21 Igor Sergeev  73' FW 19 Azizbek Turgunboev  90' Manager: Srečko Katanec

GK 22 Ahmad Madania (c) RB 24 Abdul Rahman Weiss CB 13 Thaer Krouma CB 2 Aiham Ousou LB 3 Moayad Ajan RM 21 Ibrahim Hesar CM 18 Jalil Elías CM 4 Ezequiel Ham LM 12 Ammar Ramadan CF 25 Mahmoud Al Aswad  31'  70' CF 11 Pablo Sabbag  70' Substitutions: FW 7 Omar Khribin  70' MF 17 Fahd Youssef  70' Manager: Héctor Cúper

Man of the Match: Abdul Rahman Weiss (Syria) Assistant referees: Abu Bakar Al-Amri (Oman) Rashid Al-Ghaithi (Oman) Fourth official: Mohanad Qasim Sarray (Iraq) Reserve assistant referee: Watheq Al-Swaiedi (Iraq) Video assistant referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referees: Salman Falahi (Qatar)

Syria vs Australia

This was the second straight match between these two teams as they also faced each other in the previous edition with Australia beating Syria 3–2 to send them 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 speeded 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 hit 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 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 that Australia could only defeat Syria by one-goal margin.

18 January 2024 (2024-01-18)

14:30

Syria	0–1	Australia
	Report	Irvine 59'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 10,097

Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Syria

Australia

GK 22 Ahmad Madania (c) RB 3 Moayad Ajan CB 13 Thaer Krouma CB 2 Aiham Ousou LB 24 Abdul Rahman Weiss RM 12 Ammar Ramadan CM 4 Ezequiel Ham CM 18 Jalil Elías LM 25 Mahmoud Al Aswad  65' CF 21 Ibrahim Hesar  78' CF 11 Pablo Sabbag  65' Substitutions: MF 17 Fahd Youssef  65' FW 7 Omar Khribin  65' FW 20 Antonio Yakoub  78' Manager: Héctor Cúper

GK 1 Mathew Ryan (c) RB 25 Gethin Jones CB 19 Harry Souttar CB 21 Cameron Burgess LB 16 Aziz Behich RM 8 Connor Metcalfe  57' CM 13 Aiden O'Neill  27'  57' LM 22 Jackson Irvine RWF 6 Martin Boyle  83' CF 15 Mitchell Duke  78' LWF 5 Jordan Bos  57' Substitutions: MF 17 Keanu Baccus  57' FW 7 Samuel Silvera  85'  57' MF 14 Riley McGree  57' FW 9 Bruno Fornaroli  78' FW 10 Kusini Yengi  83' Manager: Graham Arnold

Man of the Match: Jackson Irvine (Australia) Assistant referees: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates) Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates) Fourth official: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran) Reserve assistant referee: Alireza Ildorom (Iran) Video assistant referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates) Assistant video assistant referees: Abdulla Al-Marri (Qatar)

India vs Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan had never lost against India with their 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 a dream 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 headed into India's net for the opener. Uzbekistan became better at the 18th minute when a clumsy coordination by Indian defenders allowed Fayzullaev to pull a phase on India's right flank, which his 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 snatch the ball in. 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 it easily deflected to Nasrullaev as he didn't miss again to secure Uzbekistan's victory.

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.

18 January 2024 (2024-01-18)

17:30

India	0–3	Uzbekistan
	Report	Fayzullaev 4' Sergeev 18' Nasrullaev 45+4'

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 38,491

Referee: Fu Ming (China)

India

Uzbekistan

GK 1 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu RB 5 Sandesh Jhingan CB 2 Rahul Bheke CB 3 Subhasish Bose LB 6 Akash Mishra CM 8 Suresh Singh Wangjam  84' CM 7 Anirudh Thapa  72' CM 19 Lalengmawia Ralte RF 14 Naorem Mahesh Singh  86' CF 11 Sunil Chhetri (c)  72' LF 9 Manvir Singh  46' Substitutions: FW 16 Rahul K. P.  46' MF 10 Brandon Fernandes  72' FW 26 Ishan Pandita  72' MF 25 Deepak Tangri  84' MF 15 Udanta Singh Kumam  84' Manager: Igor Štimac

GK 1 Utkir Yusupov RB 4 Farrukh Sayfiev CB 25 Abdukodir Khusanov CB 15 Umar Eshmurodov LB 13 Sherzod Nasrullaev  46' RM 11 Oston Urunov  74' CM 9 Odiljon Hamrobekov  83' CM 7 Otabek Shukurov LM 10 Jaloliddin Masharipov (c)  74' AM 22 Abbosbek Fayzullaev  83' CF 21 Igor Sergeev Substitutions: DF 26 Zafarmurod Abdurakhmatov  46' MF 19 Azizbek Turgunboev  74' MF 20 Khojimat Erkinov  74' MF 8 Jamshid Iskanderov  83' MF 14 Jamshid Boltaboev  83' Manager: Srečko Katanec

Man of the Match: Otabek Shukurov (Uzbekistan) Assistant referees: Zhou Fei (China) Zhang Cheng (China) Fourth official: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan) Reserve assistant referee: Mohammad Al-Kalaf (Jordan) Video assistant referee: Omar Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates) Assistant video assistant referees: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

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, which Australia beat the 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 a 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 brilliant header in the 78th minute, as both teams 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.

23 January 2024 (2024-01-23)

14:30

Australia	1–1	Uzbekistan
Boyle 45+1' (pen.)	Report	Turgunboev 78'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 15,290

Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

Australia

Uzbekistan

GK 1 Mathew Ryan (c) RB 3 Nathaniel Atkinson CB 19 Harry Souttar  50' CB 4 Kye Rowles LB 16 Aziz Behich RM 14 Riley McGree  70'  83' CM 17 Keanu Baccus  84' LM 22 Jackson Irvine RF 6 Martin Boyle  72' CF 10 Kusini Yengi LF 5 Jordan Bos  90+3' Substitutions: MF 8 Connor Metcalfe  72' FW 9 Bruno Fornaroli  83' MF 13 Aiden O'Neill  83' FW 11 Marco Tilio  90+3' DF 20 Lewis Miller  90+3' Manager: Graham Arnold

GK 1 Utkir Yusupov RB 26 Zafarmurod Abdurakhmatov CB 5 Rustam Ashurmatov CB 15 Umar Eshmurodov  25' LB 4 Farrukh Sayfiev RM 11 Oston Urunov  46' CM 7 Otabek Shukurov (c)  45+3' CM 9 Odiljon Hamrobekov  45' LM 20 Khojimat Erkinov  63' AM 18 Abdulla Abdullaev CF 22 Abbosbek Fayzullaev  63' Substitutions: MF 10 Jaloliddin Masharipov  46' FW 21 Igor Sergeev  63' 84' MF 19 Azizbek Turgunboev  63' MF 8 Jamshid Iskanderov  84' Manager: Srečko Katanec

Man of the Match: Martin Boyle (Australia) Assistant referees: Jun Mihara (Japan) Takumi Takagi (Japan) Fourth official: Ma Ning (China) Reserve assistant referee: Zhang Cheng (China) Video assistant referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan) Assistant video assistant referees: Fu Ming (China)

Syria vs India

The recent fixture between these two teams was way back in 2019 when they ended in a 1–1 draw during the 2019 Intercontinental Cup. Syria managed to defeat India on just two occasions, whilst India hadn't lost against Syria in 15 years. However, this was just the first time Syria and India 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 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 maximised when Hesar's clinical low pressure pass saw Khribin clinically drilled home despite Indian defender's efforts to prevent it and gave Syria a historic win.

With this result, combined with other group's results, this meant for the first-time ever in the history, Syria advanced past the group stages, having failed to do so in six previous editions they had participated. For India, this meant the Indians had a distressing record, failing to score a single goal in five consecutive Asian Cup matches.

23 January 2024 (2024-01-23)

14:30

Syria	1–0	India
Khribin 76'	Report

Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor

Attendance: 42,787

Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

Syria

India

GK 22 Ahmad Madania (c) RB 24 Abdul Rahman Weiss  26' CB 2 Aiham Ousou CB 13 Thaer Krouma LB 3 Moayad Ajan RM 25 Mahmoud Al Aswad  82' CM 18 Jalil Elías CM 4 Ezequiel Ham LM 12 Ammar Ramadan  69' CF 21 Ibrahim Hesar CF 11 Pablo Sabbag  46' Substitutions: FW 7 Omar Khribin  77'  46' FW 9 Alaa Al Dali  69' MF 14 Mouhamad Anez  82' Manager: Héctor Cúper

GK 1 Gurpreet Singh Sandhu RB 3 Subhasish Bose CB 5 Sandesh Jhingan  47' CB 2 Rahul Bheke  2' LB 6 Akash Mishra RM 17 Lallianzuala Chhangte CM 25 Deepak Tangri  64' LM 19 Apuia  81' RWF 9 Manvir Singh  64' CF 11 Sunil Chhetri (c) LWF 14 Naorem Mahesh Singh  26'  46' Substitutions: MF 15 Udanta Singh Kumam  46' DF 21 Nikhil Poojary  47' MF 18 Sahal Abdul Samad  64' MF 8 Suresh Singh Wangjam  64' MF 7 Anirudh Thapa  81' Manager: Igor Štimac  54'

Man of the Match: Ibrahim Hesar (Syria) Assistant referees: Rawut Nakarit (Thailand) Tanate Chuchuen (Thailand) Fourth official: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea) Reserve assistant referee: Yoon Jae-yeol (South Korea) Video assistant referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore) Assistant video assistant referees: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Discipline

Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:

• first yellow card: −1 point;
• indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
• direct red card: −3 points;
• yellow card and direct red card: −4 points;

Only one of the above deductions was applied to a player in a single match.

Team	Match 1				Match 2				Match 3				Points
Australia					2				2				–4
Uzbekistan	1								3				–4
Syria	1								2				–3
India	1								2				–3

References

1. ""Match Schedule – AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023"" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
2. "#AsianCup2023 Groups Finalised". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 11 May 2023.

External links

• Official website