Sainsbury handed 2011 finalists Australia the ideal start to their bid to secure a second consecutive final appearance as the centre-back headed home inside the first three minutes of the semi-final with his first goal for the Socceroos and with Davidson following suit 11 minutes later as the full-back became Australia's 10th different scorer during the tournament, Ange Postecoglou's side would face two-time winners South Korea on 31 January at Stadium Australia looking to claim a maiden continental title. Both sides made two changes following their semi-final successes, with Australia recalling defender Matthew Spiranovic and midfielder Mark Milligan, while the UAE brought in full-back Walid Abbas and forward Mohamed Abdulrahman. And it was Spiranovic's central defensive partner Sainsbury who handed Australia the ideal start inside the first three minutes as the centre-back powered a downward header from Massimo Luongo's right wing corner past Majed Naser.