Australia have slipped to third in their group for FIFA World Cup qualifying, after a 1-1 draw against China that was punctuated by a controversial VAR decision.
With wins to both of their biggest rivals for direct qualification overnight, a campaign that started with a perfect nine points from nine now suddenly looks precarious.
After taking just two points in their past three matches, Graham Arnold’s men now sit third on 11 points, behind both Saudi Arabia (16) and Japan (12).
The Socceroos needed to impress after a dour outing against the Saudis in Sydney last week, in what was their first home game in almost two years. Instead, it was another frustrating performance.
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Mitch Duke opened the scoring eight minutes before the break, popping up at the near post to nod in a bullet cross from Martin Boyle.
But with just over 20 minutes to go and after a lengthy VAR check, the referee pointed to spot after James Jeggo was judged to have handballed in the box.
https://twitter.com/BrentonSpeed/status/1460653214022340614https://twitter.com/pjohnson_sports/status/1460656654689595395https://twitter.com/DreyerChina/status/1460647567239221249
Wu Lei converted the ensuing spot kick, and no late scrambling was enough for Australia.
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Now they must wait until next year to resume the final few matches of the campaign, with a pair of absolutely vital fixtures against Vietnam and Oman on January 27 and February 1.
If the Socceroos have any hopes of direct qualification, wins in both of those games are a must – before they close out the group stage in March with two crunch games against Japan and Saudi Arabia.