Wednesday, February 29, 2012

China 3 - Jordan 1; Iraq 7 - Singapore 1

China bid farewell to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in style before the home fans in Guangzhou. Chinese star Hao Junmin wanted to give the best possible account of himself in the final match, and that he did. Hao scored on a low, driven shot to the far post for a 1-0 lead just before the half that China took into the dressing room.

Hao secured a brace with a lunging volley off a long pass that allowed him to defeat an offsides trap and get a good fifteen meters beyond the last defender. Hao's second came just beyond the midway point of the second half. With five minutes to play, Jordan had a short free kick from the left side of goal that was flicked on frame and saved, but they pounced on the rebound for 2-1. Three minutes later, Yu Dabao ended the drama with an answer to Jordan's late push, giving China a 3-1 victory with which to console themselves as they watch the final round of qualifying from their couches.

Iraq faced off with Singapore in Doha, United Arab Emirates in their eighth match of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying to date. The small crowd on hand was treated to a show of Iraqi football. It took only four minutes for the first goal to fall for Iraq. Iraq had a 3-0 lead after a converted penalty kick midway through the period. Singapore pulled one back six minutes after that, but the first half scoring ended on another Iraq penalty kick conversion, giving Iraq a 4-1 lead at the break.

Two minutes after the restart, it was 5-1 after yet another Iraqi goal. Captain Younis Mahmoud scored his second just beyond the hour mark and finished his hat trick with a lovely sky-high chip in stoppage time to end the match 7-1 and give Iraq the Group A crown.

Goals
China
Hao Junmin 43, 69
Yu Dabao 88

Jordan
Abdallah Salim 85

Iraq
Karrar Jasim 4
Younis Mahmoud 11, 61, 90+3
Hawar Mulla Mohammed 22 PK
Nashat Akram 36 PK
Mustafa Kareem 47

Singapore
Mohammad Abdul 28

Match Reports:

Highlights:

Qatar 2 - Iran 2; Bahrain 10 - Indonesia 0

Iran hosted Qatar in Tehran in each team's final qualifier in round three of Asian qualifying. Iran had an early attack come to fruition when a sliding, last-ditch effort resulted in a dangerous cross that was headed home by debutante and former German youth international Ahskan Dejagah for a 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, Yousef Ahmad Ali drew a penalty kick for Qatar after getting clipped by the goalkeeper's hands. The resulting penalty was converted, knotting the match at 1-1.

Early in the second period, Iran drew a free kick just outside the box from the left side. Dejagah stepped up to take the kick and calmly bent it around the wall and into the upper ninety at the far post, pushing Iran back into the lead, 2-1. Javad Nekounam almost eliminated Qatar with a strike, but the intersection of the crossbar and the post pushed away a hard rebound. Still down 2-1 late in the match and knowing that the 9-0 scoreline in the Bahrain match would see them eliminated if they could not equalize, Qatar drew a free kick from around forty meters from goal. Fabio Cesar provided excellent service and Kasola Mohammed beat the offside trap perfectly to get off a header within the six-yard box that he knocked home for the equalizer. The match ended at 2-2, and Qatar secured safe passage to the final group phase of Asian qualifying.

Bahrain welcomed Indonesia to a completely empty stadium in Manama knowing that they were in need of a resounding victory to overcome an enormous goal differential deficit of nine to Qatar. They received great news when Indonesia announced they were using a under-23 side. Bahrain got the best possible news when in the second minute Indonesian goalkeeper Samsidar Samsidar was red carded, leaving their opponents down a man for essentially the full ninety minutes. Bahrain took advantage for four goals in the first period.

The second half saw even less resistance from a shattered Indonesia side. Once the score reached 8-0, Bahrain knew they had done enough on their end to qualify. All that was left was for Qatar to lose in Iran. Bahrain eventually pushed the final score to 10-0, but Kasola Mohammed's late goal in Tehran meant that Bahrain's effort today was for naught. Hat tricks were earned by two Bahrainis, Mohamed Tayeb and Sayed Dhiya. Bahrain were awarded four penalty kicks in the match, and they converted two of them. In spite of securing the largest margin of victory in the 2014 FIFA World Cup so far, Bahrain will not be able to qualify for their third straight intercontinental playoff because they are out of the tournament thanks to Qatar's dramatic draw.

Iran 12 pts - IN
Qatar 10 pts - IN
Bahrain OUT
Indonesia OUT

Goals
Iran
Ashkan Dejagah 4, 50

Qatar
Ibrahim Khalfan 9 PK
Kasola Mohammed 86

Bahrain
Ismael Abdullatif 5 PK, 71
Mohamed Tayeb 15, 60, 65
Mahmood Abdulrahman 34 PK, 41
Sayed Dhiya 62, 82, 90+4

Match Reports:

Full Match Video:

South Korea 2 - Kuwait 0; United Arab Emirates 4 - Lebanon 2

South Korea carried not only the hopes of their of nation into today's match, but also the secondary hopes of the Lebanese people. Kuwait came into Seoul knowing that only a win would see them qualify for the final ten in Asia. Any other result and both South Korea and Lebanon would advance. A nervy first half resulted in few opportunities and was quite forgettable.

In the second half, South Korea finally took the pressure off themselves by securing an opener twenty minutes after the restart. Lee Dong-Gook, recalled into the national side by the new coach (who had been his coach at club level immediately prior), had scored twice in the friendly win over Uzbekistan four days ago. He notched the opener after a nice hold up maneuver followed by a give-and-go during which he dropped into open space, freeing himself from a quartet of oblivious defenders. Lee Keun-Ho (pictured, red) notched the South Koreans second six minutes later to finish off Kuwait 2-0. The win eliminated Kuwait from the 2014 FIFA World Cup and ensured progression to the next phase for both South Korea and Lebanon.

Lebanon are surely grateful for the aid of South Korea because they did not get the job done in Abu Dhabi. A simple dropped catch off a direct free kick led to the United Arab Emirates' first goal. Three minutes later, the pro-Lebanon crowd on hand willed their team back for an equalizer and convinced Mahmoud El Ali to take a huge hit from the onsliding goalkeeper as he finished for 1-1. UAE waited another fifteen minutes to score on a ball tapped across the face of goal by Ismail Matar and finished by Ali Al Wehaibi. Hassan Maatouk found a pretty equalizer in stoppage time despite having to overcome a severe numerical disadvantage in the attacking third, sending the teams into the locker room square at two goals apiece.

In the strike of the match, Ismail Matar struck a booming free kick goal from thirty-eight meters that sent UAE into a 3-2 lead. However, by this time South Korea had already taken the lead in Seoul, so Lebanon had good reason to believe they would advance even with a loss. With just over ten minutes left in the match, UAE pushed the lead to 4-2 after another soft goal given up by Abbas Hassan, who surely must relinquish the job back to Ziad El Samad. The 4-2 loss did not prevent Lebanon from advancing to the final round of Asian qualifying for their first time in their history.

South Korea 13 pts - IN
Lebanon 10 pts - IN
Kuwait OUT
UAE OUT

Goals
South Korea
Lee Dong-Gook 65
Lee Keun-Ho 71

United Arab Emirates
Basheer Saeed 20, 79
Ali Al Wehaibi 38
Ismail Matar 69

Lebanon
Mahmoud El Ali 23
Hassan Maatouk 45+2

Match Reports:

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03leH3TKLPw (UAE v. Lebanon)

Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P7D9XBVc4k (South Korea v. Kuwait)

Uzbekistan 1 - Japan 0; Tajikistan 1 - North Korea 1

North Korea traveled to Khujand to face Tajikistan in both teams' final 2014 FIFA World Cup appearance. Both teams were eliminated, but the unofficial world championship (held by North Korea) was up for grabs. The first half of the title bout was goalless.

Eight minutes into the second period, the unofficial world champions were able to convert a penalty kick. Tajikistan responded eight minutes later with their first goal in AFC Third Round play and only their second goal in their eight total qualifying matches. Surprisingly, Tajikistan were able to hold on to secure their first positive result out of their eight matches (they advanced out of round two with two losses after Syria were disqualified), but the draw was enough for North Korea to retain their unofficial world championship.

Uzbekistan made the trip to Toyota to face Japan four days after being soundly beaten 4-2 in a friendly against South Korea. Japan was in control in the first half, and Shinji Okazaki almost turned the control into an advantage on the scoreboard, but in the twenty-first minute his shot curled into crossbar. A couple other opportunities went begging, and the match remained 0-0 after forty-five minutes.

In the second period, Uzbekistan was still looking to strike on the counterattack. Just before ten minutes had passed, Uzbekistan intercepted a pass in their own penalty area and immediately pushed forward. The resulting break ended up being five Uzbeks against four Japanese, an inexcusable lack of effort being shown by the other Japanese players. With room to operate, a cross was whipped into the danger zone, and although Eiji Kawashima made the first save, Aleksandr Shadrin (pictured, white) was there for the easy rebound goal, his first for the national team. Uzbekistan won the match by that 1-0 scoreline and were the only one of the twenty teams in the AFC Third Round that went through their six matches without suffering a loss. Uzbekistan won in the home of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup winners in spite of having five players suspended for the match.

Goals
North Korea
Jang Song Hyok 53 PK

Tajikistan
Akhtam Khamrakulov 61

Uzbekistan
Aleksandr Shadrin 54

Match Reports:

Highlights:

Australia 4 - Saudi Arabia 2; Oman 2 - Thailand 0

Australia, already qualified for the next phase, played host to Saudi Arabia in a packed mid-sized stadium under a light drizzle in Melbourne. From the opening whistle, there was no questioning Australia's desire to win the match, but the Green Falcons dominated possession early. After twenty minutes of dominion over the ball, a beautiful double cut-back to his right left Salem Al Dawsari open for a long-range screamer, which he unleashed past a diving Mark Schwarzer for a 1-0 Saudi lead. Australia started to get a foothold in the match, however, and a Mark Bresciano ball led to a toe poke goal from Alex Brosque (pictured, blue) just ahead of his sliding defender to level the match at one-goal apiece. Saudi Arabia had an instant response to Brosque's goal with a stoppage time goal from Nasser Al-Shamrani that gave the Green Falcons a 2-1 lead at the break.

After the resumption of play, Australia maintained their motivation and desire to push for victory, which was surely appreciated by Oman and Thailand who were playing their match simultaneously and needed Australia to come back from their 2-1 deficit. Australia appeared to equalize again when Lucas Neill crushed a header that was too hot for Saudi Arabian goalkeeper Waleed Ali (pictured, yellow) to handle, but Neill was controversially ruled offside. Immediately following the offsides, Saudi Arabia attacked down the right flank through Mohammad Al Shaboub, who played an excellent ball across the box to Al-Shamrani. The resulting toe poke went wide of the open net vacated by the onrushing Schwarzer. The man of the match up to the point when Al-Shamrani was substituted off the pitch was Saudi right center back Osama Hawsawi, but he lost that title over a magical three-minute stretch of Aussie perfection. The introduction of Saudi striking legend Yasser Al-Qahtani counter-intuitively invigorated the Aussies. Brosque went up the left side of the pitch and slotted a ball across the box to Harry Kewell, who finished with his first touch for 2-2. Nary two minutes later, Brett Emerton came up the left flank and lofted a pass to a wide-open Brosque at the six-yard box, who then calmly flicked the header into goal for a 3-2 lead. Australia stole the resulting kickoff and got a sliding block of a clearance from Emerton that ended up in the back of the net, netting Australia two goals within a span of thirty seconds and a 4-2 lead with fifteen minutes left to play. Australia held on after a crucial Schwarzer save on Naif Hazazi, winning the match 4-2 and sending Saudi Arabia out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Of course, Australia alone could not eliminate the Saudis. Hosts Oman or visitors Thailand would have to put up a sufficient result in Muscat to do the job. A goal within ten minutes by Oman let Saudi Arabia know that only a win in Australia would suffice. Surely Oman were scoreboard watching and knew that the 2-1 Saudi halftime lead would be enough to eliminate them, but Oman kept their focus on Thailand and maintaining their clean sheet. Oman brought their 1-0 lead into the break.

The deeper the match went a 1-0, the more desperate Thailand became. With fifteen minutes to go, Oman surely knew that Australia had Saudi Arabia down 4-2, so Oman simply had to hold on to victory in order to advance. Thailand's Teeratep Winothai was ejected for a red card in the eighty-fifth minute, and Oman took advantage of their numerical superiority for a second goal in stoppage time that clinched a 2-0 victory. The win coupled with Australia's means that Oman have advanced to the AFC Fourth Round. Thailand and Saudi Arabia have been eliminated.

Australia 15 pts - IN
Oman 8 pts - IN
Saudi Arabia OUT
Thailand OUT

Goals
Australia
Alex Brosque 43,75
Harry Kewell 73
Brett Emerton 76

Saudi Arabia
Salem Al Dawsari 19
Nasser Al-Shamrani 45+2

Oman
Hussain Al Hadri 9
Abdul Aziz Mubarak 90+1

Match Reports:

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCm413jWdp0 (Australia v. Saudi Arabia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7NvP6yUBW0 (Oman v. Thailand)

Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXX0hGC0UtA (Australia v. Saudi Arabia)

Friday, February 24, 2012

Preview: AFC Third Round Matchday Six

Four of ten berths into the final group stage of Asian qualifying are still up for grabs on the final matchday of the first group stage. 29 February 2012 will go down in history as one of the best days in some countries' footballing history, while others will rue the day for opportunities lost.

The preview will start with the deciding matches in Group D, both of which kickoff at 4:30 Central Time (GMT-6). The current group standings are as follows:

Australia 12 pts IN
Saudi Arabia 6 pts +1, 4 goals scored
Oman 5 pts -5, 1 goal scored
Thailand 4 pts -2, 4 goals scored

All four teams are still in contention for the next round. Saudi Arabia pay a visit to group winners Australia in Melbourne knowing that a win would secure them second place in the group. However, Holger Osieck's Australia do not appear to be resting on their laurels and have named a decent squad for the clash. Mark Schwarzer (Fulham) will be in goal, and captain Lucas Neill (Al Jazira, United Arab Emirates; pictured, 2) will be set up in the defense before him. Outstanding performers from the 2011 AFC Asian Cup David Carney (Bunyodkor, Uzbekistan) and Sasa Ognenovski (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, South Korea, pictured, 6) will be alongside Neill.

The midfield is a bit more raw for Australia, with only Brett Emerton (Sydney FC) being a stalwart at the position. Mark Bresciano (Al Nasr, UAE) is making his first appearance for the Socceroos since Osieck took over after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. James Troisi is one of three European-based players as he plays in Turkey for Kayserispor. At forward is another European-based player in Adam Sarota of Utrecht in the Dutch League. Sarota will be splitting minutes with former star Harry Kewell (Melbourne Victory' pictured, 10) and up-and-comer Alex Brosque (Shimizu S-Pulse, Japan). With so many quality players not making the final cut, all who did make the Australia squad will be eager to put on a good performance, so there will be no questioning the home side's motivation in this match.

The pressure is on Saudi Arabia's coach Frank Rijkaard to secure the win and avoid a devastating failure to qualify for the final ten in Asia. The only non-domestically-based player in the side is forward Yasser Al Qahtani of Al Ain (UAE; pictured, green). The Green Falcons will be counting on him and strike partner Nasser Al-Shamrani (Al-Shabab) to deliver much needed offense in the encounter. Playmaker Mohammad Al-Shalboub of Al-Hilal will be looking to breakdown the inexperienced midfield of Australia and will be joined in the midfield by captain Taisir Al-Jassim of Al-Ahli. Al-Hilal's Osama Hawsawi will be the leader in defense for Saudi Arabia.

Should Saudi Arabia slip up, the match is Muscat between hosts Oman and visiting Thailand will be crucial. An Oman win would carry them through to the final group stage. If Saudi Arabia lose, a Thailand victory would be sufficient. If Saudi Arabia tie, a Thai victory would need to overcome a goal differential of three in order for Thailand to overtake the Saudis. Omani forward Amad Al Hosni of Al-Ahli will be looking for his Saudi teammates to give his squad an opening so that Al Hosni may score the clinching goal that sends Oman into the final ten in Asia. Minding the net for Oman is their sole European-based player, Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan, England).

Thailand, lest we forget, defeated Oman soundly in their first encounter, a 3-0 beating in Bangkok last September. However, problems with the two Thai goalscorers in that encounter have left the front line in shambles. Sompong Soleb will have to re-earn his coach's trust after personal issues have arisen, whereas Teerasil Dangda is racing to recover from a groin injury in time to be selected for the decider. An added obstacle comes in the form of an out-of-season matchday as the Thai domestic league is not in session. Compare this to the Omani domestic league, which is currently in full swing.

The Group B finales simultaneously kickoff at 6:00 Central Time. Three teams remain in contention for the two berths in the next stage. The current standings are as follows:

South Korea 10 pts +8
Lebanon 10 pts -2
Kuwait 8 pts +1
UAE OUT

South Korea fired their coach Cho Kwang-Rae after a shock 2-1 loss to Lebanon last November. In stepped Choi Kang-Hee, the coach of Jeonbuk Motors, winners of the 2011 K-League and finalists in the 2011 AFC Champions League. At forward, coach Choi has dropped two European-based strikers in Koo Ja-Cheol (Augsburg) and Ji Dong-Won (Sunderland) in favor of familiarity in the form of Jeonbuk's Lee Dong-Gook. Lee Dong-Gook will pair up top with captain and leading goalscorer Park Chu-Young (Arsenal, England). Park Chu-Young is one of only three players based outside of South Korea. The others are defender Lee Jung-Soo of the 2011 AFC Champions Al-Sadd (Qatar) and midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng of Celtic. Famed goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryung (Suwon Samsung) has been tasked with preventing any Kuwaiti shots from breaching his goalmouth. South Korea qualify for the next phase unless they lose and UAE do not defeat Lebanon. Kuwait's only qualification scenario is to win in Seoul. They bring an entirely domestic-based squad featuring three players with a century of caps: forward Bader Al-Mutwa (Al-Qadsia) and Al-Kuwait's midfielder duo of Waleed Ali and Jarah Al-Ateeqi.

Lebanon are but one step away from an astounding berth in the final ten in Asian qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Lebanon will secure qualification with a win or draw in Abu Dhabi against pointless UAE. Lebanon even advance with a loss so long as Kuwait do not win against South Korea! The Cedars will not be looking for outside help, however, and they will continue to count on consistent performers like attacking midfielder Akram Moghrabi (Nejmeh, Lebanon), midfielder and captain Roda Antar (Shandong Luneng, China), forward Hassan Maatouk (Ajman Club, UAE), defender Youssef Mohamad (Al-Ahli, UAE), and young defensive phenom Walid Ismael (Racing Beirut).

In Group E, Qatar go to Tehran to face Iran while Bahrain host Indonesia in Manama. The only way that Bahrain can advance in place of Qatar as the second team out of the group is if both Bahrain and Iran secure victory and Bahrain overcome a nine-goal goal differential against Qatar. Basically, the world should prepare itself to watch the stars of 2011 AFC Champions League winner Al-Sadd (goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr, defenders Abdullah Koni and Ibrahim Walid, midfielder Khalfan Ibrahim, and forward Yusef Ahmed) in the AFC Fourth Round while wearing Qatari national team jerseys.

Another relevant thing to bear in mind are the potential seedings for the final round draw. Based on my projections, here is how the seedings may wind up. Current FIFA and ELO rankings are given next to the country's name, though only the eccentric FIFA rankings (listed first) count for seeding. According to the ELO ranking, the teams of the Asian confederation are severely underrated by the FIFA rankings, which always overrate European teams.

Two teams will be in each of five pots for the AFC Fourth Round draw. An asterisk signals that the team has yet to secure qualification for the next phase.

22/16 Australia
30/18 Japan

34/25 South Korea*
47/29 Iran

77/57 Uzbekistan
79/66 Iraq

82/69 Jordan
95/79 Oman*

96/88 Qatar*
114/126 Lebanon*

Projected to be eliminated:
89/72 Saudi Arabia*
91/77 Kuwait*
97/67 Bahrain*
130/110 Thailand*

Match Previews:

Friday, February 17, 2012

Five Uzbekistan players suspended for Matchday One of AFC Fourth Round

Five Uzbekistan national team players were suspended for Uzbekistan's first qualifier in round four of Asian qualifying, which begins in June 2012. On Matchday Five of the AFC Third Round, Uzbekistan were leading Tajikistan 3-0 in Tashkent. Uzbekistan had already qualified for the next phase of qualifying, but had multiple players sitting on a yellow card.

Two yellow cards collected over the course of the AFC Third Round result in an automatic one-game suspension, so five Uzbekistan players sitting on yellow cards from previous matches purposely took yellow cards for delay of game infractions, thus garnering suspensions for Matchday Six. However, the thought process behind this tactic was that with the suspensions served against Japan on 29 February 2012, these five players would not be risking a second yellow card in that match, an occurrence which would preclude the players from participating in Matchday One of the AFC Fourth Round as their yellow-card suspensions would have to be served at that time.

FIFA did not approve of this tactic, so in addition to the automatic yellow-card suspension for the essentially meaningless Japan match on 29 February 2012, these five players will also be suspended for Uzbekistan's opener in the AFC Fourth Round. The five players disciplined are Vagiz Galiulin, Shavkatjon Mulladjanov, Islom Tuhtahujaev, Sanjar Tursunov, and captain Server Djeparov. Each player was fined 3,000 Swiss francs, and the Uzbekistan Football Federation was penalized 18,000 Swiss francs.

Press Release:

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Match Schedule: February 2012

Matchday Six of the AFC Third Round will be the only matchday taking place in the month of February. In a special occurrence, the matchday has fallen on Leap Day, potentially giving rise to many silly trivia questions like "who is the all-time top scorer in Asian history on Leap Day?" However, the matches on Leap Day are not going to be silly affairs for some of the teams involved, as eight of the twenty teams have yet to settle whether or not they will be advancing to round four of Asian qualifying.

In Group B, two spots are left for progression to the AFC Fourth Round. South Korea merely need a point from their match against Kuwait, and Lebanon need just a point from their match at the United Arab Emirates in order to secure progression. However, a win by Kuwait would see them through to the next phase. If both South Korea and Lebanon lose, South Korea will advance at the expense of Lebanon.

In Group D, only one spot is left for progression to the next phase. If Saudi Arabia secure a win at Australia, they take the spot. However, if Saudi Arabia lose, the winner of the Oman-Thailand match in Oman will secure second place. If Saudi Arabia lose but Oman tie Thailand, Saudi Arabia will advance barring an overwhelming Australia victory. Pandemonium occurs if Saudi Arabia ties and Thailand wins. Both teams would end up equal on points, and the qualification would hinge on whether Thailand had won by three goals or more.

In Group E, Qatar and Bahrain fight for the last spot in the AFC Fourth Round. Qatar will advance with a draw at Iran or if Bahrain fail to win at home against Indonesia. The only way Bahrain qualify is with a massive win combined with a huge loss by Qatar. Bahrain need to overcome a nine-goal deficit in goal differential between themselves and Qatar.

The easy picks are South Korea and Lebanon from Group B and Qatar from Group E. The difficulty arises with the Group D pick. I foresee an Australia win at home coupled with an Oman win at home sending Oman into round four.

Match times are given in Central Time (GMT-6).

29 February 2012 (AFC Third Round Matchday Six)
Jordan at China 2:00 Guangzhou
North Korea at Tajikistan 2:00 Khujand
Saudi Arabia at Australia 3:30 Melbourne
Thailand at Oman 3:30 Muscat
Uzbekistan at Japan 4:30 Toyota
Kuwait at South Korea 6:00 Seoul
Lebanon at United Arab Emirates 6:00 Abu Dhabi
Qatar at Iran 7:30 Tehran
Indonesia at Bahrain 7:30 Manama
Singapore at Iraq 7:45 Doha, Qatar