The new International Cycle for Asia kicked off in unspectacular fashion this week with a final round of friendlies ahead of the real bread and butter which begins in June when the joint World and Asian Cup qualifiers continue in earnest. While much on display meant little, there were a number of interesting subplots as some nations kicked off their campaigns with new coaches in play, others tested themselves out against some of the finest squads from around the globe, while some were playing their way into relevant seeding pots ahead of April’s qualifying draw. Here’s a look back over preceddings involving those who will likely fall in the top two seeding pots.
First Seeds
Stability is an assumed given going into a new international campaign, a fresh start to put to bed any unknowns that previously had stood in your way, however this was never going to be the case in Iran. A good year now into a war of words between coach and federation has seemingly come to a head with long term manager and firm national hero Carlos Queiroz expected to leave in the coming week. I say expected, he's confirmed he will leave, however this isn't for the first time, so no one really can tell. Either way, going forward Iran aren't going into World Cup qualification with any sort of cohesion.
As far as the action on the pitch is concerned things are a whole lot rosier. Back to back testing friendlies in Europe is a world away from the last couple of years when Iran barely organised the odd local friendly against sub standard opposition. For the time being at least the IFF have upped their game. The encounters were competitive and for the most part rewarding, especially a 2-0 win victory over a pretty much full strength Chile team. In one of Iran's best performances during Queiroz's time in charge, they took the game to the South Americans and finally showed some valuable attacking intent. Their second tie in Sweden didn't see them return to the same level of performance however, as the inevitable exit of Queiroz loomed large.
Alongside Iran, Australia chose to test themselves in
Europe against improved opposition. Two months off the back of clinching their
first Asian Cup title on home soil, the Socceroos travelled to Europe for two
rather differing challenges. First up, the World champions Germany, a test of
Australia’s capabilities to break up and counter against an opposition that
dominated possession. The Socceroos’ passed with flying colours and could have
clinched a victory in Kaiserslauton, all but for a late German equaliser. Ange
Postecoglou’s positive tactics impressed from the start, leaving three mobile
forwards high up the pitch to punish the home side on the break.
Their second encounter was a completely different one,
that of travelling to face FYR Macedonia. Australia expectantly dominated possession but
lacked the injinuity to create many promising openings. The fluid attacking trio that had
impressed only days before were left frustrated, and while their defence were
rarely troubled, they came away frustrated with a goalless draw to boot. The
2-2 draw in Germany will capture the headlines but in truth the match in Skopje
may prove the most useful. The Socceroos have pace in attack to counter most
teams, it’s their general build up play that needs assessing especially against
weaker opposition.
While their peers tested themselves in Europe, the East
Asian giants of Japan and Korea Republic stuck to home comforts with two lower
key ties a piece. Japan kicked off the new reign of Vahid Halilhodzic in solid
and at times encouraging fashion, putting away visiting Tunisia (2-0) and
Uzbekistan (5-1) without too much worry. It’ll likely be a while before we finally see
the true “Haliljapan” in all its glory. Korea Republic also had a solidly successful
week, drawing against Uzbekistan (1-1) before narrowly beating New Zealand (1-0). Nothing special was really on offer apart from their continual solidity which Stielike’s
side are now becoming known for. For the Uzbeks it continues to be a work in progress with plenty of experimentation on show from Qosimov in a regenerating squad.
One of the most anticlimactic weeks on offer was from China
PR, who off the back of a surprising campaign in Australia, disappointed with
two draws in friendly competition at home to Haiti (2-2) and Tunisia (1-1). The
former was the most displeasing given they started with much of their “A” team
before salvaging a draw from two losing positions. One man who will come out of
this week in highspirits however will be Beijing Guoan striker Yu Dabao, who despite a
hardly prolific goalscoring record domestically, notched a goal in each tie to bring
himself into Alain Perrin’s plans.
Iraq were amongst the biggest winners of the week with back to back wins over DR Congo going someway to securing their place as the final top seed. There had been some real concerns over the appointment of
Second Seeds
There was little to cheer from the “second tier” of Asian
footballing nations, however one side continues to stand out as they regained
some of their lost form from January’s Asian Cup. Qatar recorded back to back
home victories over Algeria and Slovenia in a professional manner, the latter a
1-0 win over a side who had banged in 6 only days before in their midweek European
qualifier. While both matches were played in the hardly partisan Al-Sadd
Stadium in Doha, credit needs to be flung the Qataris way given their pointless
exit from Australia. The highlight over the two ties can only be attributed to left
back Abdelkarim Hussain who hit a stunning winner against the Slovenians.
Elsewhere there were only a few victories to shout about.
Saudi Arabia edged past a poor Jordanian side 2-1 thanks to a late brace from
in-form Mohammad Al-Sahlawi. Bahrain may have tasted a humbling defeat at the
hands of Colombia, going down 6-0, but did get back to winning ways with a
narrow win over the Philippines. Marjan Eid’s early reign as Bahrain coach has
been up and down but the signs are there of improvement in some key areas.
Thankfully the Bahrain FA remain fully behind their unfashionable home
coach.
There were a number of miserable weeks to choose from but
one sticks out as the worst given its longer reaching impact That being of
Oman, who had started so well with an impressive 6-0 win over Malaysia to kick
start the week. However, it was always known that given Iraq’s performances at
the weekend, they were in need of the maximum points over Algeria to have any
chance of clinging onto the final top seed spot. They predictably didn’t live
up to it, losing 4-1 to a rejuvenated Algerian side seeing them plummet out of
the top 8 and into a perilous position ahead of April’s draw.
As far as consistant failings go Jordan will have more to
be depressed about as they lost another two games to West Asian neighbours.
While a late penalty for the Saudis seeled their fate in their 2-1 reverse on
Monday, their 1-0 defeat to Syria earlier in the week was yet another failing
of the squad and in particular manager Ray Wilkins' early campaign. The Englishman has
now been in charge 7 months and has only won 1 of his 14 matches in charge. His
days are surely numbered. One crumb of comfort is that Jordan couldn’t slip
from a second seeded spot, and in the end neither could Kuwait, who despite a plucky performance but ultimate defeat to Colombia remained in the top 16.
Elsewhere the FIFA calculaters came into play, often
punishing those who had organised friendlies over those who had opted out all
together. Defeats for the Philippines and the Maldvies proved immensely costly
as they dropped out of the running for a second seeded spot. Both impressed in
last year’s Challenge Cup but will likely be looking ahead to two big sides
ahead of them when they start their qualifying campaign in June. With two sides
losing out, two have consequently benefited. Vietnam were already in pole
position to remain in the top 16, but will likely move up a spot despite not
featuring this week. As will Afghanistan, who instead concentrated their
efforts on their Under 23 side this week, moving in at expense of the Philippines
without kicking a senior ball. How ironic that in qualification, the biggest
movers could have benefited after not even being on the pitch.
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