Published 1/25/2011 2:42:08 PM by William Montero from soccermogul

Australia showed their class and left absolutely no doubt they are deserving of a spot in the finals of the 2011 Asia Cup. They routed an outclassed Uzbekistan side 6-0 in a semifinal.  Powerful Japan awaits in the final Saturday after they slipped past Korea Republic in penalty kicks after battling to a 2-2 draw in regulation.

Australia raced in front after only 5 minutes of play as Harry Kewell notched the opener. It was all Aussies from there. Asian player of the year Sasa Ognenovski doubled their lead 11 minutes before halftime and the match went to the break 2-0.

The second went from bad to worse for Uzbekistan. Blackpool's David Carney put the game beyond doubt in the 65th and only minutes later Uzbek striker Ulugbek Bakaev was sent off. It was all one way traffic after the sending off.  Three more goals were to come after the red card. Blackburn's Brett Emerton grabbed the fourth, Carl Valeri the fifth and Robbie Kruse the sixth as the shellshocked Uzbeks crumbled under the pressure.

"We had a brilliant game, the players put on a great show and I'm full of praise for them. It was fantastic," said Australian coach Holger Osieck. "The secret for victory is the way we presented ourselves on the pitch. We had great shape, we played up and tried to create chances. We were very attack-oriented."

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