It's scary how South Korea are absolutely bossing it in group G. Played 6. Won 6. 23 goals for. 0 goals against. +23 goal difference. Sure, their competition isn't exactly great stock - Lebanon, Kuwait, Myanmar, and Laos, but they've really taken that group by the scruff of the neck and choked them.

I'd be worried if we drew them in the next round.

FIFA World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying latest developements on Kuwait situation:
http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/asia/18336-kuwait-face-losing-world-cup-opportunity-as-fifa-rules-in-political-interference

The football rankings guy has crunched the numbers once again

http://www.football-rankings.info/2015/12/2018-fifa-world-cup-afc-sims-18.html

The 12 most likely teams with possible pots are as follows

Pot 1 - Iran, South Korea Pot 2 - Japan, Australia
Pot 3 - Saudis, UAE*** Pot 4 - Uzbek, Qatar
Pot 5 - Iraq***, North Korea** Pot 6 - Thailand, Syria

*** = most likely to drop out with Jordan, China and Kuwait the teams most likely to take their spots

Assuming we qualify and given we have had Japan in the last 2 World Cup campaigns I would be happy if we are in the same pot as Japan and are drawn against Iran (preferably because of 1997) or South Korea.

We may end up in the same pot as SK instead, otherwise it's a 50/50.

Again assuming we qualify and also assuming the other 11 favoured teams qualify as per the above spots a Middle Eastern skewed group could end up as Iran, Australia, Saudi/UAE, Qatar, Iraq and Syria

On the other hand an East Asian skewed group could end up as SK, Australia, Saudi/UAE, Uzbek, NK and Thailand with the possibility of China also snagging a spot in Pot 4 at the expense of UAE (and Uzbek shuffling pots as well)

Edited by glh37: 22/12/2015 10:24:24 PM

I just want Pyonyang and Tehran away so bad.

It will be amazing if Hong Kong qualify for thw next round knocking out China.

long shots to qualify, however they well have knocked China out with their nil all draw last match

fingers crossed for you mate,

no doubt Bangkok with possibly cheap cheap airfares around $400 return would also be a popular away trip

If those pots stay as they are then I'd take SK, UAE, Qatar, Iraq and Thailand. Saudi away would be a very dirty affair. If China get through that could also be a tough one. Iran in our group would be a very emotional thing. It's taken so long to see them again and it might actually bring some closure for a lot of fans. Times have changed big time for both teams.

regarding a possible Saudi trip I remembered we played them in the first WCQ round in 2014 qualifying

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/forums/default.aspx?g=posts&t=58205

All you can do is laugh.




https://twitter.com/Babagoaaal/status/685061258916327424

...and still only pulled a draw.

According to the official team squad their 'Brazilian' contingent for that game includes...

* Ramon Saro
* Paulo Helber
* Juninho
* Rodrigo Silva
* Diogo Rangel
* Patrick Fabaiano
* Jairo Neto

I happened to create the wiki pages for Jairo Neto and Patrick Fabiano. :lol:

All of them look very suss - all born in Brazil, and looks like all but 2 have never even played in East Timor. :lol:

There was an article in VICE about it 6 months ago. :lol:

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/is-east-timor-illegally-putting-together-a-national-soccer-team-with-brazilian-players

Edited by Heineken: 9/1/2016 05:20:49 AM

Australia will drop to 5th in Asia (behind Iran, Korea, Saudi Arabia & Japan) in the February set of FIFA rankings, and there fore Pot 3 the draw for the next round. So we need to hope the UAE can beat the Saudi's and we win both games in March to try to get our Pot 2 spot back.

Actually all we have to do is win both games, even if Japan win both of their games we will move ahead of them and Japan will drop to Pot 3 if Saudi's beat UAE.

UAE had a 2-1 friendly win over an understrength Iceland on 16th January - so Australia will actually drop 10 points behind UAE as well into 6th place.

With this in mind if we win both games can UAE finish ahead of us in the March rankings dropping us (once more) into Pot 3??

UAE can still not finish the rankings ahead of us if we win both games, even with their friendly win over Iceland. If we win both games and UAE beat Saudi Arabia we will be ranked 3rd in Asia in April, if Saudi Arabia wins we will still be ranked 4th. So either way we will remain in Pot 2 with 2 wins in the next qualifiers.

South Korea have joined Qatar in qualifying for the next stage after the Myanmar-Kuwait match postponed in November was awarded to Myanmar 3-0

now that the March rankings are out you can use the prognosis tool to calculate the world ranking points each team will be on in April (used for STage 3 seeding) given your predicted results for March matches

http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-tools/prognosis.html

Edited by glh37: 10/3/2016 03:57:02 PM

further to this here are my calculations, in order of maximum points each country still in contention could be on in April

Iran
- assuming they Win vs India then W/D/L vs Oman = 672, 629, 607 points
- assuming they Draw vs India then W/D/L vs Oman = 651, 607, 585 points
- assuming they Lose vs India then W/D/L vs Oman = 640, 597, 575 points

Saudi Arabaia
- assuming they Win vs Malaysia then W/D/L vs UAE = 631, 559, 523 points
- assuming they Draw vs Malaysia then W/D/L vs UAE = 605, 532, 496 points
- assuming they Lose vs Malaysia then W/D/L vs UAE = 591, 519, 483 points

Oz
- assuming they Win vs Tajikstan then W/D/L vs Jordan = 601, 538, 507 points
- assuming they Draw vs Tajikstan then W/D/L vs Jordan = 574, 511, 480 points
- assuming they Lose vs Tajikstan then W/D/L vs Jordan = 561, 498, 467 points

South Korea (Already qualified for stage 3)
- assuming they Win vs Lebanon then W/D/L vs KUWAIT = 596, 574, 563 points
- assuming they Draw vs Lebanon then W/D/L vs KUWAIT = 578, 556, 545 points
- assuming they Lose vs Lebanon then W/D/L vs KUWAIT = 569, 547, 536 points

Japan
- assuming they Win vs Afghanistan then W/D/L vs Syria = 577, 552, 539 points
- assuming they Draw vs Afghanistan then W/D/L vs Syria = 561, 536, 523 points
- assuming they Lose vs Afghanistan then W/D/L vs Syria = 553, 527, 515 points

UAE (defeated Bangladesh 6-1 on March 18th)
- assuming they Win vs Palestine then W/D/L vs SAUDI ARABIA = 571, 521, 496 points
- assuming they Draw vs Palestine then W/D/L vs SAUDI ARABIA = 541, 492, 467 points
- assuming they Lose vs Palestine then W/D/L vs SAUDI ARABIA = 527, 477, 452 points

Uzbekistan
- assuming they Win vs Phillipines then W/D/L vs Bahrain = 549, 520, 505 points
- assuming they Draw vs Phillipines then W/D/L vs Bahrain = 521, 492, 478 points
- assuming they Lose vs Phillipines then W/D/L vs Bahrain = 507, 479, 464 points

Jordan
- assuming they Win vs Bangladesh then W/D/L vs AUSTRALIA = 479, 438, 418 points
- assuming they Draw vs Bangladesh then W/D/L vs AUSTRALIA = 463, 423, 403 points
- assuming they Lose vs Bangladesh then W/D/L vs AUSTRALIA = 456, 415, 395 points

Qatar (Already qualified for stage 3)
- assuming they Win vs Hong Kong then W/D/L vs CHINA = 471, 434, 416 points
- assuming they Draw vs Hong Kong then W/D/L vs CHINA = 450, 413, 394 points
- assuming they Lose vs Hong Kong then W/D/L vs CHINA = 439, 402, 384 points

Oman
- assuming they Win vs Guam then W/D/L vs Iran = 429, 374, 346 points
- assuming they Draw vs Guam then W/D/L vs Iran = 412, 356, 329 points
- assuming they Lose vs Guam then W/D/L vs Iran = 403, 348, 320 points

China
- assuming they Win vs Maldives then W/D/L vs QATAR = 423, 377, 354 points
- assuming they Draw vs Maldives then W/D/L vs QATAR = 412, 356, 329 points
- assuming they Lose vs Maldives then W/D/L vs QATAR = 403, 348, 320 points

Syria (defeated Iraq 1-0 in a friendly on 18th March)
- assuming they Win vs Cambodia then W/D/L vs Japan = 393, 342, 316 points
- assuming they Draw vs Cambodia then W/D/L vs Japan = 375, 324, 299 points
- assuming they Lose vs Cambodia then W/D/L vs Japan = 366, 315, 290 points

Kuwait (assuming their FIFA suspension is lifted)
- assuming they Win vs Myanmar then W/D/L vs South Korea = 381, 313, 279 points
- assuming they Draw vs Myanmar then W/D/L vs South Korea = 357, 290, 256 points
- assuming they Lose vs Myanmar then W/D/L vs South Korea = 345, 278, 244 points

Palestine
- assuming they Win vs UAE then W/D/L vs TIMOR-LESTE = 369, 345, 333 points
- assuming they Draw vs UAE then W/D/L vs TIMOR-LESTE = 305, 281, 269 points
- assuming they Lose vs UAE then W/D/L vs TIMOR-LESTE = 273, 249, 237 points

Iraq (lost to Syria 1-0 in a friendly on 18th March)
- assuming they Win vs Thailand then W/D/L vs VIETNAM = 368, 345, 333 points
- assuming they Draw vs Thailand then W/D/L vs VIETNAM = 333, 310, 299 points
- assuming they Lose vs Thailand then W/D/L vs VIETNAM = 316, 293, 281 points

Thailand (1 match only)
- assuming they W/D/L vs Iraq = 365, 318, 295 points

DPR (Best ) Korea (1 match only)
- assuming they W/D/L vs Philippines = 346, 325, 314 points

Kyrgyzstan (1 match only)
- assuming they W/D/L vs Tajikstan = 340, 314, 301 points

Vietnam
- assuming they Win vs Chinese Taipei then W/D/L vs Iraq = 328, 261, 228 points
- assuming they Draw vs Chinese Taipei then W/D/L vs Iraq = 297, 237, 198 points
- assuming they Lose vs Chinese Taipei then W/D/L vs Iraq = 282, 216, 183 points

HONG KONG (1 match only)
- assuming they W/D/L vs Qatar = 303, 257, 234 points

Turkmenistan (1 match only)
- assuming they W/D/L vs India = 277, 253, 241 points

Lebanon
- assuming they Win vs South Korea then W/D/L vs Myanmar = 251, 236, 229 points
- assuming they Draw vs South Korea then W/D/L vs Myanmar = 210, 198, 189 points
- assuming they Lose vs South Korea then W/D/L vs Myanmar = 190, 176, 169 points

*Edited for friendly results on 18th March*

Edited by glh37: 19/3/2016 09:26:22 AM

big news prior to final two qualifiers not only effects Socceroos and Jordan also teams possibly could qualify for the next stage.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2016/03/11/0702000000AEN20160311002400315.html

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2016/m=3/news=fifa-statement-on-kuwait-qualifiers-2770223.html

Best second place revised standings:
Syria 5 4 0 1 14 6 +8 12
(home) v Cambodia
(away) at Japan

Jordan 5 3 1 1 8 2 +6 10
(home) v Bangladesh
(away) at Australia

Uzbekistan 4 3 0 1 14 6 +8 9
(home) v Philippines
(home) v Bahrain

Iraq 4 2 2 0 10 4 +6 8
(home) v Thailand
(home) v Vietnam

Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5 3 +2 8
(away) at Qatar

United Arab Emirates 4   2 1 1 13 3 +10 7
(home) v Palestine
(home) v Saudi Arabia

Oman 4 1 2 1 5 4 +1 5
(home) v Guam
(away) at Iran

Lebanon 4 1 1 2 2 4 -2 4
(away) at South Korea
(home) v Myanmar

We'll know a lot more in some hours.

South Korea with a late win over Lebanon.

HT in Jordan, up 5-0 over Bangladesh already.

The game in Sydney is officially a must-win (or draw) for the Socceroos.

Thailand grabbing a very late lid against Iraq. 2-1

Iraq grabbed a late equaliser, still the Thais qualify for the final round of qualifying. Nice to see.

If the Thais had held on 2-1 the Aussies would have qualified for the next stage, we would have to lose to Jordan and have a lot of other results go against us to miss out as it stands.

Matchday 9 Wrap,

Group A:
United Arab Emirates 2 Palestine 0
Saudi Arabia 2 Malaysia 0

Group Standings:
1 Saudi Arabia 7 6 1 0 27 3 +24 19
2 United Arab Emirates 7 5 1 1 24 3 +21 16
3 Palestine 7 2 3 2 15 6 +9 9
4 Malaysia 8 1 1 6 3 30 -27 4
5 Timor-Leste 7 0 2 5 2 29 -27 2

Final Matchday:
Palestine v Timor Leste
United Arab Emirates v Saudi Arabia

Group B:
Australia 7 Tajikistan 0
Jordan 8 Bangladesh 0

Group Standings:
1 Australia 7 6 0 1 24 3 +21 18
2 Jordan 7 5 1 1 20 2 +18 16
3 Kyrgyzstan 7 3 2 2 9 8 +1 11
4 Tajikistan 7 1 2 4 9 19 -10 5
5 Bangladesh 8 0 1 7 2 32 -30 1

Final Matchday:
Australia v Jordan
Tajikistan v Kyrgyzstan

Group C:
China 4 Maldives 0
Qatar 2 Hong Kong 0

Group Standings:
1 Qatar 7 7 0 0 29 2 +27 21
2 China 7 4 2 1 25 1 +24 14
3 Hong Kong 8 4 2 2 13 5 +8 14
4 Maldives 7 1 0 6 4 18 -14 3
5 Bhutan 7 0 0 7 3 48 -45 0

Final Matchday:
China v Qatar
Maldives v Bhutan

Group D:
Iran 4 India 0
Oman 1 Guam 0

Group Standings:
India v Turkmenistan
Iran v Oman

Group E:
Japan 5 Afghanistan 0
Syria 6 Cambodia 0

Group Standings:
1 Japan 7 6 1 0 22 0 +22 19
2 Syria 7 6 0 1 26 6 +20 18
3 Singapore 7 3 1 3 8 7 +1 10
4 Afghanistan 7 2 0 5 6 23 -17 6
5 Cambodia 8 0 0 8 1 27 -26 0

Final Matchday:
Japan v Syria
Afghanistan v Singapore

Group F:
Vietnam 4 Chinese Taipei 1
Iraq 2 Thailand 2

Group Standings:
1 Thailand 6 4 2 0 14 6 +8 14
2 Iraq 5 2 3 0 12 6 +6 9
3 Vietnam 5 2 1 2 7 7 +0 7
4 Chinese Taipei 6 0 0 6 5 19 -14 0

Final Matchday:
Iraq v Vietnam

Group G:
South Korea 1 Lebanon 0
Kuwait 0 Laos 3 - via forfeit

Group Standings:
1 South Korea 8 8 0 0 27 0 +27 24
2 Lebanon 7 3 1 3 11 5 +6 10
3 Kuwait 8 3 1 4 12 10 +2 10
4 Myanmar 7 2 1 4 8 20 -12 7
5 Laos 8 1 1 6 6 29 -23 4

Final Matchday:
South Korea 3 Kuwait 0 - via forfeit
Lebanon v Myanmar

Group H:
Uzbekistan 1 Philippines 0
Bahrain 3 Yemen 0

Group Standings:
1 Uzbekistan 7 6 0 1 19 7 +12 18
2 North Korea 7 5 1 1 12 5 +7 16
3 Bahrain 7 3 0 4 10 9 +1 9
4 Philippines 7 2 1 4 5 10 -5 7
5 Yemen 8 1 0 7 2 17 -15 3

Final Matchday:
Philippines v North Korea
Uzbekistan v Bahrain

Ranking of runner-up teams:
1 Syria 5 4 0 1 14 6 +8 12
2 United Arab Emirates 5 3 1 1 15 3 +12 10
3 Jordan 5 3 1 1 8 2 +6 10
4 North Korea 5 3 1 1 8 5 +3 10
5 Iraq 5 2 3 0 12 6 +6 9
6 China 5 2 2 1 7 1 +6 8
7 Oman 5 2 2 1 6 4 +2 8
8 Lebanon 5 1 1 4 2 5 -3 4

further to this here are my calculations, in order of maximum points each country still in contention could be on in April

Iran - assuming they W/D/L vs Oman = 672, 629, 607 points

Saudi Arabia (Already qualified for stage 3) - assuming they W/D/L vs UAE = 631, 559, 523 points

Oz - assuming they W/D/L vs Jordan = 601, 538, 507 points

South Korea (Already qualified for stage 3) - assuming they W/D/L vs KUWAIT = 596, 574, 563 points

Japan (Already qualified for stage 3) - assuming they W/D/L vs Syria = 577, 552, 539 points

UAE - assuming they W/D/L vs SAUDI ARABIA = 571, 521, 496 points

Uzbekistan - assuming they W/D/L vs Bahrain = 549, 520, 505 points

Jordan - assuming they Win vs Bangladesh then W/D/L vs AUSTRALIA = 479, 438, 418 points

Qatar (Already qualified for stage 3) - assuming they W/D/L vs CHINA = 471, 434, 416 points

Oman - assuming they W/D/L vs Iran = 429, 374, 346 points (must defeat Iran to stay alive)

China - assuming they W/D/L vs QATAR = 423, 377, 354 points (must defeat Qatar to stay alive)

Syria - assuming they W/D/L vs Japan = 393, 342, 316 points

DPR (Best ) Korea - assuming they W/D/L vs Philippines = 346, 325, 314 points

Kuwait (assuming their FIFA suspension is lifted) - assuming they W/D/L vs South Korea = 345, 278, 244 points (must defeat South Korea to stay alive)

Iraq - assuming they W/D/L vs VIETNAM = 333, 310, 299 points (must W or D against Vietnam to stay alive)

Vietnam - assuming they Win vs Chinese Taipei then W/D/L vs Iraq = 328, 261, 228 points (must defeat Iraq to stay alive)

Thailand (Already qualified for stage 3) = 318 points after drawing with Iraq

Lebanon - assuming they W/D/L vs Myanmar = 190, 176, 169 points (only alive if Kuwait's earlier results are annulled, would have to W or D against Myanmar to stay alive)

*Edited for friendly results on 18th March and WCQ on 24th March - Palestine, Hong Kong, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan are all now eliminated*


Edited by glh37: 27/3/2016 04:10:17 PM