Exactly. Yeah just because of the Middle Eastern teams are mostly all home based selections, with players who's names we can't pronounce, doesn't make them very tough to beat. Especially in their backyard.
Look how the Socceroos were struggling early on in this phase. Shock loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast. Draw in Indonesia. Arnold steps down. They still have far better depth than us, but unlike Japan are finding it tough.
I'd take a wild guess and say we'd qualify 50% of the time, with AFC now having 8 spots at the 48 team WC plus a playoff spot.
Sure the FIFA rankings have their limitations. But there are 12 AFC teams with a higher ranking than the AWs (89th). A 13th in China, who we struggled to beat at home 2 years ago, just behind us at 90th in the rankings.
Look how the Socceroos were struggling early on in this phase. Shock loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast. Draw in Indonesia. Arnold steps down. They still have far better depth than us, but unlike Japan are finding it tough.
I'd take a wild guess and say we'd qualify 50% of the time, with AFC now having 8 spots at the 48 team WC plus a playoff spot.
Sure the FIFA rankings have their limitations. But there are 12 AFC teams with a higher ranking than the AWs (89th). A 13th in China, who we struggled to beat at home 2 years ago, just behind us at 90th in the rankings.