Nonetheless, as extra-time continued, it quickly became clear that the Syrians were nearing then end of their tether.

However, they were still able to threaten – albeit perhaps inadvertently – when left-back Khaled Kerdagli let loose a long-range volley as he fell backward that flashed past the near post in the 100th minute.

Yet, the Syrian dam did eventually burst in the 103rd minute when, played through by a scything pass scythed from O'Neill, Toure guided a shot beyond Ourabi with the outside of his boot to give Australia the lead.

Chances to Buhagiar and Folami followed and Anas Alaji barley missed a late free-kick for the Syrians up the other end but the lead, ultimately, held.

Double Chance Secured

The 1-0 win sends Arnold’s side into the semi-finals of the AFC U23 Championship for the first time in the Olyroos history but, more importantly, means that Australia will now have two chances to secure a place at Tokyo 2020.

A meeting with either South Korea or Jordan in a semi-final  has now been booked, with a win in that game ensuring that Australia will be one of three AFC representatives joining host nation Japan in July.

Should the Olyroos suffer defeat, though, they will still have a chance to secure their advancement should they triumph in a third-place playoff late on Saturday evening against either Saudi Arabia – who booked their place in the semi-finals after a controversial 1-0 win over Thailand earlier in the night – the UAE or defending champions Uzbekistan.

The job is not done, but Australia are well-placed to break a 12-year Olympic drought.

Positives and Negatives

Though Australia did look somewhat more positive in their moves forward against Syria compared to the group stages, the final end-product remained frustratingly the same throughout the opening 90 minutes.

Despite a newfound willingness to try to work through, rather than around, their opponents lines, the side in green and gold continued, despite some positive signs from Alex Gersbach, to battle to create clear chances on goal throughout the contest – going into the dressing rooms after 45 minutes having only had a single shot on target.

By the end of the 90 minutes, that number hadn’t increased.

Attempts to get the ball in behind the Syrian defence were either stymied by poor passes or stiff resistance from the defence, who was ably led in the middle by captain Mohamed Fares Arnaout and Yosief Mohammad.

Eventually, it was tiring legs, combined with the freshness of the two substitutes that combined for the goal, that led to the unravelling of the junior Qasioun Eagles.

With two bites at the cherry of Olympic qualifying to come, it’s perhaps going to be something that Arnold’s side gets away with in Thailand, but it’s an area that nonetheless requires improvement going forward – either by an improvement in the side’s connectivity and incisiveness or by throwing away any pretences and embracing an ability to out-run and out-hustle opposition.

Defensively, as has also been a running theme amongst the Olyroos opponents throughout the championships, Syria’s best chances came when they were looking to get out in transition and run straight at the Olyroos back four.

But perhaps reflective of Arnold’s claims that his squad’s cohesion and abilities will improve as the tournament goes on, Sunday morning’s contest was the first occasion that the Olyroos kept a clean sheet at the 2020 AFC U23 Championships.