Irvine and Bos help Australia cruise past India in Asian Cup group opener

On Saturday, a physical Australia side dominated India, winning 2-0 in front of a mostly Indian crowd at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.

After a cagey first 45 minutes, Australia took the lead through Jackson Irvine, and Jordan Bos made it 2-0 seconds after coming on as a substitute.

The game felt almost like a home game for India, with the crowd largely made up of fans from the Indian diaspora in Doha, who made their presence known by cheering the team on despite Australia's early dominance.

Despite being shut out in the first half, Australia silenced the majority of the crowd with the opening goal shortly after the break. Their second deflated both the Indian team and the crowd.

Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan became the first woman to referee a men's Asian Cup game, and assistant referees Makoto Bozono and Naomi Teshirogi completed the all-female trio.

India skipper Sunil Chhetri, buoyed by the crowd, missed a golden opportunity when he sent a header wide, but Australia turned the screws after that and controlled possession, with the Indians rarely venturing beyond their own half.

It quickly became clear that India were no match for Australia's physicality across the pitch, with the 2015 champions regularly winning duels to prevent Igor Stimac's side from moving the ball.

India defended until halftime, but Australia broke through five minutes later.

Gurpreet Singh, India's goalkeeper, failed to deal with a cross, and Irvine scored without needing a second invitation.

The goal took the wind out of India's sails, and Australia took advantage with a second in the 73rd minute when Riley McGree dribbled into the box and cut a pass back for Bos to score.

Australia leads Group B, with India in last place after Uzbekistan and Syria drew 0-0 to earn one point each.

In Group A, China nearly defeated Asian Cup debutants Tajikistan with a late bullet header from Chenjie Zhu, but the goal was ruled out by VAR, and the game ended 0-0.

SportsLigue