MELBOURNE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Australia defeated Thailand 2-1 at AAMI Park in a nail-biting final round of the 2018 Russian World Cup qualifiers here on Tuesday evening.
Despite heavy rain and fierce winds, the weather was not enough to contain Australia's powerful attacking lineup, as the locals dominated procession throughout the contest and proved far too technical for the visitors.
Although successful, the Aussies now have a nervous wait to see if they can hang onto second spot in Asia's group B standings when Japan take on Saudi Arabia on Wednesday at 3:30 (AEST), in a match that will determine which team will miss out on automatic qualification.
Australian coach Ange Postecoglou could not hold back his disappointment when he spoke to Xinhua after the game, as he hoped for a big win to secure the second spot in the group on goal difference.
"They gave everything they had," Postecoglou said. "we wanted to play a very high-temp football game and it went really well."
"It was a bit heartbreaking for the boys that we couldn't get a better result."
Some desperate defense from the Thai's saw the Aussies scoreless in the first half despite a number of chances, however striker Tomi Juric was able to get on the end of an Aaron Mooy assist in the 69th minute, with a spectacular header to open the scoring.
Soon after however, Thailand equalised through midfielder Pokklaw A-Nan in the 82nd minute with a pinpoint strike.
It wasn't until the 86th minute when Mathew Leckie was able to bang one past the keeper to snatch a gripping win for Australia.
