Asian Cup: Australia 6 Uzbekistan 0

Australia recorded a historic victory with a clinical 6-0 drubbing of Uzbekistan that sent them into the final of the Asian Cup on Tuesday.

Playing in just their second edition of the continent’s showpiece soccer event since making the move from Oceania to the Asian Football Confederation, the Socceroos enter the final for the first time where they will face Japan, who defeated South Korea on penalties in Tuesday’s earlier semi-final.

As he had done throughout the tournament, Uzbekistan manager Vadim Abramov sprung selection surprises, making four changes from the side that defeated Jordan in the quarter-finals.

Socceroos boss Holger Osieck meanwhile opted to stick with the same starting line-up that overcame Iraq on Saturday, with Brett Emerton restricted to a place on the bench despite making his return from suspension.

And the decision to stick with Matt McKay, who was favoured to make way for Emerton, paid dividends for Osieck in the just the fifth minute when the Brisbane Roar captain combined with Harry Kewell for the opening goal.

After receiving the ball from Kewell in Uzbekistan’s defensive third, McKay produced a deft turn before threading a pass back to the Socceroos striker, whose intuitive run saw him edge behind the defence and power the ball beyond the outstretched arm of Timur Juraev.

Uzbekistan responded strongly to the early setback, sticking to the possession-based game that has seen them play some of the most eye-catching football of the tournament, but could not find a way through a resolute Australian defence.

Making his record-equalling 87th appearance for his country, Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was called into action in the 21st minute when he comfortably saved Server Djeparov’s deflected long-range effort.

Unable to claim a decent share of possession, Australia opted to suffocate their opponents’ attacks before responding through quick bursts on the counter.

It was a tactic evidenced by David Carney’s galloping 31st minute run that saw him swerve past a couple of challenges before producing a clever chip that was palmed away by Juraev.

Just four minutes later, a looping free kick into the penalty area led to Sasa Ognenovski extending Australia’s advantage, the centre-back capitalising on some threadbare defending before sending a sharp left-footed volley into goal.

After a subdued start to the second half, Carney gave Uzbekistan an insurmountable mountain to climb when he made it 3-0 after being played through onto goal by McKay in the 65th minute.

Uzbekistan responded as Odil Akhmedov struck the ball powerfully at goal only to be denied by an instinctive save from Schwarzer.

But any chance of a late rearguard evaporated amid a spate of defensive blunders that will ultimately leave a blemish on an otherwise memorable tournament for the Central Asian nation.

Australian substitutes Robbie Kruse and Brett Emerton combined to make it 4-0 in the 74th minute, as Kruse darted beyond a static backline before setting Emerton up to fire into an empty net.

McKay capped a superb display with his third assist, this time setting up Carl Valeri for the fifth goal, before Kruse, who injected notable spark after coming on for Kewell, netted his first international goal, albeit following some dreadful goalkeeping from Juraev.