Group C – MD 5 results:
Iraq 2 Iran 1
Hong Kong 0 Bahrain 0

Group C standings – after MD 5:
1 Iraq 4 3 1 0 9 2 +7 10
2 Bahrain 4 2 2 0 3 1 +2 8
3 Iran 4 2 0 2 17 3 +14 6
4 Hong Kong 4 0 2 2 1 5 -4 2
5 Cambodia 4 0 1 3 1 20 -19 1

Group D – MD 5 results:
Uzbekistan 2 Saudi Arabia 3
Yemen 1 Palestine 0

Group D standings – after MD 5:
1 Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 0 8 4 +4 8
2 Uzbekistan 4 2 0 2 10 6 +4 6
3 Yemen 4 1 2 1 5 9 -4 5
4 Palestine 4 1 1 2 3 3 +0 4
5 Singapore 4 1 1 2 5 9 -4 4

Group E – MD 5 results:
Oman 4 Bangladesh 1
Afghanistan 1 India 1

Group E standings – after MD 5:
1 Qatar 4 3 1 0 10 1 +9 10
2 Oman 4 3 0 1 10 4 +6 9
3 Afghanistan 4 1 1 2 2 10 -8 4
4 India 4 0 3 1 3 4 -1 3
5 Bangladesh 4 0 1 3 2 8 -6 1

Group F – MD 5 results:
Kyrgyzstan 0 Japan 2
Myanmar 4 Tajikistan 3

Group F standings – after MD 5:
1 Japan 4 4 0 0 13 0 +13 12
2 Kyrgyzstan 4 2 0 2 9 4 +5 6
3 Tajikistan 4 2 0 2 5 7 -2 6
4 Mongolia 4 1 0 3 2 9 -7 3
5 Myanmar 4 1 0 3 4 13 -9 3

Group G – MD 5 results:
Malaysia 2 Thailand 1
Vietnam 1 United Arab Emirates 0

Group G standings – after MD 5:
1 Vietnam 4 3 1 0 5 1 +4 10
2 Thailand 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7
3 United Arab Emirates 4 2 0 2 8 4 +4 6
4 Malaysia 4 2 0 2 6 6 +0 6
5 Indonesia 4 0 0 4 3 14 -11 0

Group H – MD 5 results:
Lebanon 0 South Korea 0
Turkmenistan 3 North Korea 1

Group H standings – after MD 5:
1 South Korea 4 2 2 0 10 0 +10 8
2 Lebanon 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7
3 North Korea 4 2 1 1 4 3 +1 7
4 Turkmenistan 4 2 0 2 6 5 +1 6
5 Sri Lanka 4 0 0 4 0 14 -14 0

Best second place teams – after MD 5:
1 Oman 4 3 0 1 10 4 +6 9
2 Bahrain 4 2 2 0 3 1 +2 8
3 Kuwait 4 2 1 1 16 3 +13 7
4 China 4 2 1 1 13 2 +11 7
5 Thailand 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7*
6 Lebanon 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7
7 Kyrgyzstan 4 2 0 2 9 4 +5 6
8 Uzbekistan 4 2 0 2 10 6 +4 6

*NOTE: Should Qatar win Group E or be among the four best runners-up the fifth best runner-up will take Qatar's place in the World Cup qualifying third round.

I will laugh my arse off if China miss out. 

Thanks for posting these BTW, always look forward to them.  

China should be fine, they like us have 3 of 4 home games remaining and the only away trip is to Guam. 

Some very interesting results - just shows how tough it is to predict outcomes in Asian football. Only halfway through but definitely foreseeable that some big(ger) teams could possibly miss out and that it could really come down to the last round of matches. Should be exciting.

anyone know why elkesson didn't play for china? 

thanks

The group standings mean that 19 points is already enough to qualify as the maximum the Group F runners up can finish on is 18 points while the maximum for the Group D and H runners up is 17 points. .

Those numbers will continue to drop as match days 6 to 8 roll on. 

If the socceroos are able to win their 2 qualifiers in March then they should be through to the 3rd Round with 2 matches in hand, this would also be guaranteed if Jordan were to drop points in either of their next 2 matches (Taiwan away on Tuesday or Kuwait away  on 31 March).

Of more interest will be which other teams are in the next stage and if any of the traditionally stronger Asian teams end up missing out.

Halftime whistle goes at Changlimithang Stadium where its Kuwait that holds a slender 1-0 lead over Nepal at the interval thru a long range strike from Al Motawaa on 27 minutes which separates the two teams after opening 45 minutes.

Nepal 0 Kuwait 1 - Al Motawaa 27'

Some huge ones tonight.

Vietnam v Thailand in a top of the group six-pointer and massive rivalry, both will need those points to keep some distance ahead of UAE. Malaysia will also hope to leapfrog UAE at least momentarily with a win against Indonesia. What a crazy group.

Iraq v Bahrain as another top of the table match both hoping to stay ahead of Iran, who will be desperately hoping for a draw while they watch on as they have the bye.

Uzbekistan will be hoping for a big result at home v Palestine to leapfrog Saudi and get their campaign back on track.

Oman will probably finish off India's hopes tonight. Qatar will all but qualify with an away win against Afghanistan in neutral Tajikistan.

Local stan derby with Kygyzstan and Tajikistan head to head for vital points in the best runner up game behind Japan, pity they're in the same group as they've both shown improvement at the Asian Cup.

North Korea and Lebanon also both playing off for second fiddle to South Korea, both on 7 points.

Full time Nepal 0 v Kuwait 1

Pressure on Jordan for a result now.

North Koreans are putting on a grassrolling masterclass against Lebanon.  Love it.

5-0 for Jordan, no surprise there.

Syria pulling away in Group A with a win over Philippines, it'll be a battle between the latter and China, both on 7 points, for the runners up spot.

Good news for Iran as Iraq and Bahrain play out a 0-0 draw. Iran still with a 5 point deficit on Iraq.

Uzbeks with an easy 2-0 win over Palestine to leapfrog Saudi at the top of Group D, Singapore with an away win against Yemen propelling them to third, one point behind Saudi.

Qatar needing a penalty to beat Afghanistan 0-1, Oman ending India's hopes also winning 1-0, Qatar and Oman to duke it out for the top spot. Go Oman.

1-1 stalemate between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, both on seven points and will be aiming for the runners up spot.

Vietnam and Thailand share points, but it's not all good news for the UAE as they've been leapfrogged by Malaysia who beat Indonesia and are now in fourth. Hopefully the ASEAN teams can keep the UAE out of the top two.

Group H seemingly wide open as Turkmenistan leapfrog to the top on 9 points with a win over Sri Lanka, while Lebanon and North Korea have a scoreless draw leaving both teams as well as South Korea all on 8 points.

Syria's performance is nothing short of amazing considering the strife their country has been in the past 5 years or so.  

Also go Phillipines.  

Group A – MD 6 recap:
Syria 1 Philippines 0
Maldives 3 Guam 1

Group A standings:
1 Syria 5 5 0 0 14 4 +10 15
2 China 4 2 1 1 13 2 +11 7
3 Philippines 5 2 1 2 8 8 +0 7
4 Maldives 5 2 0 3 6 10 -4 6
5 Guam 5 0 0 5 2 19 -17 0

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
China v Maldives
Philippines v Guam

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Maldives v Syria
Guam v China

Group B – MD 6 recap:
Jordan 5 Chinese Taipei 0
Nepal 0 Kuwait 1

Group B standings:
1 Australia 4 4 0 0 16 1 +15 12
2 Kuwait 5 3 1 1 17 3 +14 10
3 Jordan 5 3 1 1 10 2 +8   10
4 Nepal 5 1 0 4 2 16 -14 3
5 Chinese Taipei 5 0 0 5 2 25 -23 0

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
Australia v Kuwait
Nepal v Chinese Taipei

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Kuwait v Jordan
Nepal v Australia

Group C – MD 6 recap:
Iraq 0 Bahrain 0
Hong Kong 2 Cambodia 0

Group C standings:
1 Iraq 5 3 2 0 9 2 +7 11
2 Bahrain 5 2 3 0 3 1 +2 9
3 Iran 4 2 0 2 17 3 +14 6   
4 Hong Kong 5 1 2 2 3 5 -2 5
5 Cambodia 5 0 1 4 1 22 -21 1

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
Iran v Hong Kong
Bahrain v Cambodia

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Hong Kong v Iraq
Cambodia v Iran

Group D – MD 6 recap:
Uzbekistan 2 Palestine 0
Yemen 1 Singapore 2

Group D standings:
1 Uzbekistan 5 3 0 2 12 6 +6 9
2 Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 0 8 4 +4 8
3 Singapore 5 2 1 2 7 10 -3 7
4 Yemen 5 1 2 2 6 11 -5 5
5 Palestine 5 1 1 3 3 5 -2 4

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
Saudi Arabia v Yemen
Palestine v Singapore

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Yemen v Uzbekistan
Singapore v Saudi Arabia

Group E – MD 6 recap:
Oman 1 India 0
Afghanistan 0 Qatar 1

Group E standings:
1 Qatar 5 4 1 0 11 1 +10 13
2 Oman 5 4 0 1 11 4 +7 12
3 Afghanistan 5 1 1 3 2 11 -9 4
4 India 5 0 3 2 3 5 -2 3
5 Bangladesh 4 0 1 3 2 8 -6 1

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
Bangladesh v Afghanistan
India v Qatar

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Afghanistan v Oman
Qatar v Bangaldesh

Group F – MD 6 recap:
Kyrgyzstan 1 Tajikistan 1
Myanmar 1 Mongolia 0

Group F standings:
1 Japan 4 4 0 0 13 0 +13 12
2 Kyrgyzstan 5 2 1 2 10 5 +5 7
3 Tajikistan 5 2 1 2 6 8 -2 7
4 Myanmar 5 2 0 3 5 13 -8 6
5 Mongolia 5 1 0 4 2 10 -8 3

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
Japan v Myanmar
Tajikistan v Mongolia

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Myanmar v Kyrgyzstan
Mongolia v Japan

Group G – MD 6 recap:
Vietnam 0 Thailand 0
Malaysia 2 Indonesia 0

Group G standings:
1 Vietnam 5 3 2 0 5 1 +4 11
2 Malaysia 5 3 0 2 8 6 +2 9
3 Thailand 5 2 2 1 6 3 +3 8
4 United Arab Emirates 4 2 0 2 8 4 +4 6
5 Indonesia 5 0 0 5 3 16 -13 0

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
United Arab Emirates v Malaysia
Thailand v Indonesia

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Indonesia v United Arab Emirates
Malaysia v Vietnam

Group H – MD 6 recap:
Lebanon 0 North Korea 0
Turkmenistan 2 Sri Lanka 0

1 Turkmenistan 5 3 0 2 8 5 +3 9
2 South Korea 4 2 2 0 10 0 +10 8
3 Lebanon 5 2 2 1 5 3 +2 8
4 North Korea 5 2 2 1 4 3 +1 8
5 Sri Lanka 5 0 0 5 0 16 -16 0

MD 7 – Thursday March 26th:
South Korea v Turkmenistan
North Korea v Sri Lanka

MD 8 – Tuesday March 31st:
Turkmenistan v Lebanon
Sri Lanka v South Korea

Best second place standings – after MD 6:
Oman 5 4 0 1 11 4 +7 12
Kuwait 5 3 1 1 17 3 +14 10
Malaysia 5 3 0 2 8 6 +2 9
Bahrain 5 2 3 0 3 1 +2 9
South Korea 4 2 2 0 10 0 +10 8
Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 0 8 4 +4 8
China 4 2 1 1 13 2 +11 7
Kyrgyzstan 5 2 1 2 10 5 +5 7

Less than 2 months till the next WCQ on 26 (and 31) March. Looks like most of the XI used by Arnie are playing, which is a positive. Good finally Nabbout got a goal on Tuesday. From the Olyroo's, Deng, Glover and Gersbach have stood up. The next 6 weeks before selection will be interesting. Deng's move to Japan will probably put him out of the running for the call up this time though, as he'll only have a couple of games prior to the selection.

FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS - Matchday 7 schedule (all times AEDT),

Thursday March 26th:
7.30pm North Korea v Sri Lanka
9.00pm Australia v Kuwait
9.20pm Japan v Myanmar
10.00pm South Korea v Turkmenistan
10.30pm Philippines v Guam
11.00pm Thailand v Indonesia
11.30pm Iran v Hong Kong
11.30pm Bangladesh v Afghanistan

Friday March 27th:
Midnight Palestine v Singapore
Midnight Tajikistan v Mongolia
12.30am India v Qatar
3.00am Bahrain v Cambodia
3.30am United Arab Emirates v Malaysia
4.30am Saudi Arabia v Yemen

TBA:
China v Maldives
Nepal v Chinese Taipei