Australia have come away with a 2-2 draw in their third and final group match against Korea Republic.
The Olyroos are now reliant on other results: they sit first out of the four best second-placed teams, with more games around the continent yet to be played.
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Brisbane Roar’s Nicholas D’Agostino opened the scoring in the 16th minute, meeting a Lachie Wales cross on the edge of the six-yard box.
D’Agostino then netted his second on the 24th minute, latching onto a superb through-ball from Alex Gersbach.
Straight after that goal, Korea Republic’s captain brought the whole team for a pep talk, clearly unimpressed by the two-goal deficit.
FC Seoul forward Cho Young-Wook immediately responded to make it 2-1, tapping the ball into an empty net following a wicked deflection that sent goalkeeper Tom Glover sprawling to the turf.
In the second half Australia were forced deeper and deeper into their own half, allowing Korea to pull the strings. The Taegyuk Warriors duly equalised in the 63rd minute through the tournament’s top goalscorer Lee Dong-Gyeong, who finished brilliantly into the bottom corner after a knock-down from a long ball.
Korea were well and truly in the ascendancy, but – much to the relief of the Olyroos – seemed satisfied with a draw. The final fifteen minutes descended into a farce as both sides stroked the ball around their respective backlines and didn’t attempt to score a winner.
