Ipswich Town defender Cameron Burgess earned his 13th cap for Australia earned a late draw Bahrain in Riffa.
The defender has been a regular for the Blues in the last few weeks following an injury to Jacob Greaves, which saw him start for Tony Popovic's side in their 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
A solid defensive performance saw him keep his place, with the Socceroos making a fast start thanks to Kusini Yengi, who opened the scoring in the first minute of the match.
Although the visitors had most of the ball, it was Bahrain who looked the most threatening. Substitute Mahdi Abduljabbar Hassan bagged an equaliser in the 75th minute, as a poor touch from Burgess saw him pick up the ball and take aim from distance. He caught beat goalkeeper Mathew Ryan off his line, making it 1-1.
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Mahdi Abduljabbar from downtown evens it up!
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Hassan then struck again, putting his side ahead in the 77th minute following a sloppy backwards header from Sydney FC youngster Hayden Matthews.
Yengi was the man to save Socceroos, however, popping up with a 96th minute equaliser than keeps his side second in their World Cup qualifying group with seven points from six games - a record of one win, one defeat and four draws.
Only a top-two finish will guarantee qualification for the tournament in 2026, and there are four games left for them to achieve that, starting with a home game against Elkan Baggott's Indonesia - who currently sit third - in March 2025.
Elsewhere, Ali Al-Hamadi was an unused substitute for Iraq, who secured a 1-0 win in Oman thanks to Youssef Amyn's first-half strike. Jesus Casas' men sit second in their World Cup qualifying group, three points behind leaders South Korea and two points ahead of third-place Jordan.
The Lions of Mesopotamia will return to action on December 22nd as they face Yemen in the Gulf Cup.
These two matches bring the international break to an end for Ipswich players, with all eyes on Sunday's game against Manchester United.
Aside from Omari Hutchinson, who reported a minor knock in the 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur and was left out of international duty for England Under-21s as a result, everyone has reported to be fully fit.
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