Jordan suffered a 1-0 loss to Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday morning (AEDT), meaning the Socceroos leapfrog the Jordanians to end the year on top of their group in World Cup qualification.
Coming off the back of their 4-0 win over Bangladesh on Tuesday night, the news got better for Ange Postecoglou’s Aussie troops when the result from Bishkek came through in the early hours.
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A superb goal from Anton Zemlyanukhin, who missed the clash against Australia in Canberra last week through injury, was the difference and saw the Socceroos leapfrog Jordan back to the top of the group.
The Socceroos now top the group on 15 points with Jordan on 13 points and Kyrgyzstan 11.
Zemlyanukhin’s cracking strike came just after the break, controlling a difficult pass before turning two defenders with skill and speed and then finishing clinically with his left foot.
There are two group games remaining for Australia on home soil both in late March next year against Tajikistan and Jordan.
Providing they don’t slip-up against the Tajiks, it means the Socceroos would only need a draw against Jordan in the final match to top the group and qualify for the next phase as group winners.