New Delhi: The search for the next Asian football champion is on but one of the pre-tournament favourites Australia might just be out of the running after their 3-1 loss to Iraq on Friday.
Iraq took the lead in the 21st minute when Nashat Akram's free kick floated past the Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer with Saleh Sadir getting a faint touch.
Australia came back strong in the second half and equalised with a powerful header by Mark Viduka, however Iraq scored two more goals to finish off the biggest upset of the tournament.
The second Iraqi goal was scored in the 60th minute by Hawar Mulla Mohammed and Karrar Jassim Mohammed scored the third at the death.
Following the shock loss Australian coach Graham Arnold came down heavily on his players.
Now Australia must beat Thailand in the final Group A game on Monday to have any chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
All the four teams in Group A - Australia, Thailand, Oman and Iraq - can finish on four points and if that happens then head-to-head record will be taken into account. If that fails to separate the top teams then goal difference would be taken into account and finally the number of goals scored would come into play.
In another Asian Cup tie, defending champions Japan proved their worth and beat the UAE 3-1 in their Group B match at Hanoi.
Japan took the lead in the 22nd minute when a Shunsuke Nakamura corner kick found Naohiro Takahara, who headed the ball in.
Just five minutes later Takahara scored his second goal with a volley into the far corner of the net.
The UAE did manage to get on the board when substitue Saeed Alkas scored off a Ahmed Al Mahri pass. The defeat knocked the UAE out of the tournament.
Japan are now on four points from two games, equal with co-hosts Vietnam.
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