Hosts Australia seal quarter final spot at Asian Cup

Host nation Australia booked their ticket to the quarter final of the 2015 Asian Cup with a convincing 4-0 victory over Oman in Sydney on Tuesday.

Two goals in quick succession from Matt McKay and Robbie Kruse built the foundations for the comfortable win, before Mark Milligan's penalty on the stroke of half time assured the Socceroos a spot in the final eight.

Second-half substitute Tomi Juric then added a fourth as Ange Postecoglou's side whipped the 50,000-strong crowd into a frenzy.

Australia joined South Korea in qualifying for the quarter finals after the latter recorded a 1-0 win over Kuwait in Canberra earlier in the day to seal their spot in the knockout stages of the competition.

But all eyes were on Sydney, as Australia continued their campaign against Oman.

The Socceroos had made a slow start to their opening match and followed in a similar pattern against Oman. After the hosts partially cleared a corner, Raed Ibrahim's rasping 30-yard volley forced Mat Ryan into a brilliant save.

But it would prove a rare foray forward for the visitors. Pressing Oman onto the back foot, Australia dominated the contest with 72 percent possession in the first half and, within three minutes, struck twice to break the match wide open.

Their first goal came when McKay, standing virtually on the goal line, flicked Trent Sainsbury's towering header into the back of the net.

The home crowd had barely finished celebrating McKay's opener when Kruse made it two. Profiting from Massimo Luongo's fine pass, Kruse ran into space and drilled his shot past the hapless Ali Al Habsi.

Australia was simply dominant and threatened to add a third prior to half time. Kruse was again the man causing headaches for the Omani defence, lining up a 20-yard shot that glanced off the frame of the goal.

Moments later and Mathew Leckie angled a shot across the face from a promising position.

Eventually, the goal that effectively killed off the contest did arrive. Tim Cahill was hauled down inside the area by Abdul Salam Amer, with a penalty justifiably awarded.

Australia was momentarily aggrieved as Milligan had scored from the initial chance. But they need not worry, with the midfielder converting the subsequent spot kick to make it 3-0 at the break.

The hosts put the cue in the rack to begin the second period, but with Oman sending numbers forward in the hope of salvaging an unlikely comeback, Australia found chances on the counter.

Coming off the bench, Juric was quick to make an impact. But his first goal of the tournament owed a lot to Leckie. With a wonderful cross using the outside of his right boot, Leckie found Juric in space and the West Sydney striker tucked away the opportunity.

Had it not been for Al Habsi, Australia could have had more. Both Juric and Milligan had close-range headers brilliantly kept out by reflex saves from the Omani keeper, before Mark Bresciano fired over from the edge of the area.

By the end, Oman was baying for the final whistle, with their tournament over at the earliest possible opportunity. For Australia, their Asian Cup campaign is only just beginning.

Earlier in the day, South Korea also sealed qualification through to the quarter finals of the Asian Cup with a 1-0 victory over Kuwait in Canberra through Nam Tae-Hee's header.

South Korea made seven changes for the clash, with midfielder Lee Chung-Yong the most notable omission.

The Bolton Wanderers playmaker returned to Korea during the week with a hairline fracture to his shin and is expected to miss the remainder of the tournament.

The result of an overhauled side was a disjointed start. However, Kuwait failed to take advantage and allowed South Korea to find their rhythm.

After a long wait, a defence-splitting pass from Kim Min-Woo created the first opportunity of the match. But Hameed Youssef spared Kuwait's blushes with a wonderful save to deny Lee Keun-Ho.

However, Hameed was powerless to stop South Korea's next effort. Following Cha Du-Ri's surging run down the right, Nam worked his way in front of his marker, directing Cha's cross into the back of the net.

Despite taking the lead, South Korea was by no means convincing, with Kuwait nearly leveling the scores three minutes after half time.

Ali Al Maqseed found space 25 yards from goal and hit a swerving effort that crashed against the upright.

Abdulaziz Al Enezi and Al Maqseed were now running the show in the final third for Kuwait and moments later they again came close to producing what would have been a deserved equaliser.

Aziz's smart dummy and Al Maqseed's clever turn enabled the latter to find space inside the 18-yard box. But, bearing down on goal, he whipped his shot over the bar.

Soon after and Aziz's mazy run worked an opening for Abdullah Al Buraiki, who slammed his close-range shot high and wide.

But they couldn't steal an equalizer and, as a result, South Korea earned their place in the quarter finals, with Kuwait bowing out.

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