Dhaka: Tim Cahill’s first half hat-trick helped Australia seal a comprehensive 4-0 win over Bangladesh on Tuesday and leapfrog Jordan at the top of the Group B 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers table.
A further effort from Mile Jedinak saw Australia notch their ninth qualifying goal against their South Asian opponents and take their points haul to an impressive 15 points – two more than Jordan who lost 1-0 away to Kyrgyzstan. Both teams have played six games.
On a night of high drama and fine football at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Cahill, who was on target during last week’s 3-0 defeat of Kyrgyzstan, opened the scoring after only six minutes when he converted Melbourne City star Aaron Mooy’s sixth minute free-kick with a trademark header.
An irrepressible Cahill duly doubled his tally on 32 minutes, the Shanghai Shenhua striker reacting first to prod the ball home from close range, before he completed only his second ever hat-trick for Australia by applying the finishing touch to yet another fine Mooy delivery.
Socceroos captain and Crystal Palace defender Jedinak then further compounded Bangladesh’s woes by making it 4-0 in the dying embers of the first period with a straightforward tap in at the far post.
Amid a raft of second half substitutions and a strengthened Bangladeshi resolve, Australia failed to add to their advantage despite notable efforts from Matt McKay and Cahill yet again, although the resounding nature of their win will further encourage Ange Postecoglou’s charges who now have home qualifiers against Tajikistan and Jordan to come in March next year.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
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