Asian WC qual groups

Asian WC qual groups

I expect upside down blue, won't need a coffee this morning - with this boost to his world cup obsession

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=483854&cc=9999

it's a bit hard to  predict who we will (assume qualifying from Oceania) meet

Group 1 Team P W D L F A Pts   Australia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Iraq 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Qatar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group 2 Team P W D L F A Pts   Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Bahrain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Oman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Thailand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group 3 Team P W D L F A Pts   Korea Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   DPR Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Turkmenistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group 4 Team P W D L F A Pts   Saudi Arabia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Uzbekistan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Lebanon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Singapore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Group 5 Team P W D L F A Pts   IR. Iran 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Kuwait 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   UAE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Syria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 In Round Four, the ten nations which are left are drawn into two groups of five. The top two teams will qualify for the World Cup. Match dates in 2008: October 15, November 19. The two teams which finish third will then play-off and the winning nation then faces a further play-off against a country from Oceania for a place in South Africa. Play-off dates: October 10, 2009 and October 14, 2009. Then November 14, 2009 and November 21, 2009.

My picks for the final 10:
Australia
China
Japan
Oman
S. Korea
N. Korea
Saudi Arabia
Uzbekistan
Iran
Kuwait

So have some of their players!

Yes. No way they'll be able to emerge ahead of either China or Australia in a home and away type situation. They'll also be playing their home games in Syria or Jordan, so home field advantage is out for them.

Iraq can't be dismissed that easily. Remember they clobbered Oz at the Asian Cup, and although a lot can change over the course of the qualifiers they are nevertheless full of new found confidence. Also, I don't see the lack of home games as being a big issue: wherever they play in the middle east their support will far outnumber China's and Australia's.

Yeah, not many Iraqis in Syria or Jordan.

Iraq simply don't have the quality to trouble Australia and China in a home and away type situation. Iraq massively overachieved in the Asian Cup (given the players and the footballing experience they have), ambushing Australia and a few other teams who didn't expect them to play as well as they did, but no-one will underestimate them now. Australia wins the group easy, and China gets comfortably second.

Also, no-one will watch Iraq in Jordan and Syria. The Iraqi refugees there are more concerned about daily struggle for survival than football, and Jordan and Syrian fans will rather watch their teams than the Iraqis. They may have latent sympathies for the Iraqis, but nothing more.
And as for heat - yep, Australians and Chinese don't now what playing in the heat is. el grapadura2007-11-27 21:27:21

You make good points. Maybe being together in a tournament suits Iraq. They may also be a team on the rise. Or maybe the Asian cup was a one off?
I still think they have a chance to cause an upset and finish above China. Australia should finish first.
We should all take more interest in these qualifiers this time as we will hopefully be playing one of these teams for a spot in S.A.

Beware Qatar and Kuwait, as the occasional over achievers.

Aussies know what playing in the heat is like.I played in Sydney some years ago (in Blacktown) in a pre season in Jan and it was 42.

I think the tournament situation helped them a lot - they got their tactics right, got on a roll after everyone was excited and happy to see them do well, and the rest has become history. My reasoning is that such a set of circumstances is a bit more difficult to sustain in a series of matches spread over a longer period of time aginst pretty good opposition.
Of course, Iraq could still qualify for the next round, I just don't see it as a likely outcome. Australia easily have the most quality in their squad, and China are very determined to turn their team into an Asian powerhouse. Their last World Cup qualifying campaign was poor (they were knocked out at this stage), and they've apparently worked very hard to ensure that doesn't happen again. They also see the success of their national team as crucial in pushing the Chinese bid for the 2018 World Cup, and I just have a feeling they'll be a team to watch out for in Asian qualifying.

Of course, I could be completely wrong.

That group 1, WOW!

All those teams are really competitive, even Qatar with their win in the Asian Games prove they can cause problems for the other teams, just checking the FIFA rankings all are in the top 10 for the AFC. Iraq have an excellent record of late and if they have a full squad I think that they will get through.

Iraq: 4th Olympics 2004, 2nd Asian Games 2006, 1st Asian Cup 2007
Qatar: 1st Asian Games 2006

I'm convinced we'll be playing Aussie in the playoff. Its written in the stars.  Hammer Head2007-11-29 13:09:39

Australia won't win the group imo. Conditions are going to be very tough and they don't even have a coach yet..

Qatar, China and especially Iraq are all good teams.
valeo2007-11-29 15:13:49

Media over here in Oz is going with the 'Group of Death' tag, but not necessarily in a negative way. In fact if anything the belief is that such a tough group will force Oz to raise their game from the start, so they definitely wont be underestimating the opposition. There is concern about the heat though, and the possibilty of playing several games without their Europe based players.

That's a very bizarre choice to say the least. In addition to his Norway job, he also used to manage Wimbledon. Pretty badly. I can't see how his expertise can benefit Iraq.