Soccer­oos headin­g home from the Asian Cup after a 1-0 defeat in the quarte­r-final agains­t the hosts UAEABU DHABI: Any temptation to become over-dramatic about the premature end to Australia’s defence of their Asian Cup title would have ceased abruptly when the news of a genuine tragedy filtered through to the squad on Saturday. Teenager Bor Mabil, the sister of Socceroos forward Awer Mabil, was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning when a car in which she was a passenger crashed in Adelaide. “FFA extends its deepest sympathies to Awer, the Mabil family, and Bor’s friends, at this difficult time,” Football Federation Australia (FFA) said in a statement. It was the earliest exit for the Socceroos since their maiden 2007 campaign and followed a run to the final in 2011 and the title triumph on home soil four years later. On Friday, they had 22 shots without finding a net, the most a side has managed in an Asian Cup contest without scoring a goal since Australia themselves in the 2011 final against Japan (26).

Source: The Express Tribune January 26, 2019 11:03 UTC