Speaking at last night’s post-match Press conference at Stadium Australia in Sydney Olympic Park, where over 40,000 fans came to see the game, Macala said that there is still all to play for, and their final fixture against the Uzbeks at the National Stadium in Riffa next week will be their most crucial tie.

"Third place in our group is still to be decided and we must work hard to prepare for our final match so that we can win and move on with our hopes of qualifying," Macala said.

Macala was not disappointed with outcome, but said that he was hoping for a draw. "I knew that if we failed to score, we will surely lose the game," the Czech said.

Macala congratulated the Australians for gaining the full three points that put them on top of Group ’A’ in these Asian qualifiers and said that they deserved the victory.

He added that Bahrain put up a good fight in the match, but in the end, were unsuccessful. Bahrain lost control in the second-half and Australia took advantage of their errors.

Macala also pointed out that since the beginning of the final continental qualification round, Australia and Japan were the most likely to win automatic qualification from their group, and everyone else would be playing for third place - which he said is exactly what’s happening now.

Bahrain and Uzbekistan now face off for third place, which will earn them a playoff route to the World Cup.

Bahrain must at least draw with the Uzbeks to be sure of going through. Any sort of defeat will dash Bahrain’s hopes. Bahrain won their previous head-to-head game in Tashkent earlier this year.

The third placed teams in Group ’A’ and Group ’B’ will clash in a playoff in September and winner of that match will clash with Oceania winners New Zealand in the final playoff scheduled for October and November.