Thailand put up a brave rearguard action against Australia in Melbourne but went down by two goals to one. Australia knew that a big win would give them automatic qualification to the World Cup Finals but a combination of desperate defending and bad luck meant they now face Syria in a two-legged play-off next month.
Australia struck the woodwork three times and had a remarkable thirty-nine attempts on goal but they had to wait until the 69th minute for Juric to finally break the deadlock. However, the floodgates didn’t open and Anan rounded off a fine Thailand move to level in 82nd minute.
Although Leckie restored Australia’s lead four minutes later, Saudi Arabia’s 1-0 win over Japan meant that they go through on goal difference. This left Thailand without a win in their third round qualifying matches, though they were desperately unlucky in the early games.