India's midfielder #07 Anirudh Thapa and defender #02 Rahul Bheke fight for the ball with Australia's forward #09 Bruno Fornaroli during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group B football match between Australia and India at the Ahmad Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan,Doha on Saturday (Jan 13, 2024). - AFP
AL RAYYAN, Qatar (Reuters): Australia beat India 2-0 in their Asian Cup Group B opener on Saturday, with second-half goals from Jackson Irvine and substitute Jordan Bos in front of a crowd largely made up of Indian fans at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
After a cagey opening half, Australia got on the board in the 50th minute when Indian keeper Gurpreet Singh failed to deal with a cross, with his tame effort to palm it away falling to Irvine in the box who pounced to score.
The goal took the wind out of India's sails and Australia capitalised with a second in the 73rd minute when Riley McGree dribbled into the box and cut a pass back to Bos to score seconds after coming on.
The match also saw Japan's Yoshimi Yamashita become the first woman referee to officiate a men's Asian Cup encounter, with assistant referees Makoto Bozono and Naomi Teshirogi making it an all-female trio.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Doha; Editing by Hugh Lawson) - Reuters
