So today / tonight sees the return of Qualification, as promised next week there will be a full update on what happens over the next few days... Due to time differences, Asian games are set to kick off so will be providing score updates from FIFA.
Australia v Tajikistan ... (4-0 - LIVE) ... If Australia win and Jordan do not, they will qualify for Round Three Luongo (2'), Jedinak (12' pen), Milligan (57' pen), Burns (67')
Japan v Afghanistan ... (10:34) South Korea v Lebanon ... (11:00) ... Lebanon need one point from their last two games to overtake the suspended Kuwait China v Maldives ... (11:35) ... China must equal or better Hong Kong's result today else they are eliminated Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) ... Vietnam must win and hope that Iraq lose else they are eliminated Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) ... If Jordan lose they risk being eliminated on Saturday Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00) Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) ... If Iraq win today, along with their final game, they will overtake Thailand to top the Group. Iran v India ... (14:30) ... If Iran win and Oman do not, they will qualify for Round Three Oman v Guam ... (15:00) ... A win for Oman will eliminate Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) ... If Palestine lose they are eliminated Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) ... Both sides are already eliminated Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) ... If Hong Kong lose, they need China to lose their final matches else they are eliminated Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
So today / tonight sees the return of Qualification, as promised next week there will be a full update on what happens over the next few days... Due to time differences, Asian games are set to kick off so will be providing score updates from FIFA.
Australia v Tajikistan ... (2-0 - LIVE) ... If Australia win and Jordan do not, they will qualify for Round Three Luongo (2'), Jedinak (12' pen)
Japan v Afghanistan ... (10:34) South Korea v Lebanon ... (11:00) ... Lebanon need one point from their last two games to overtake the suspended Kuwait China v Maldives ... (11:35) ... China must equal or better Hong Kong's result today else they are eliminated Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) ... Vietnam must win and hope that Iraq lose else they are eliminated Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) ... If Jordan lose they risk being eliminated on Saturday Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00) Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) ... If Iraq win today, along with their final game, they will overtake Thailand to top the Group. Iran v India ... (14:30) ... If Iran win and Oman do not, they will qualify for Round Three Oman v Guam ... (15:00) ... A win for Oman will eliminate Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) ... If Palestine lose they are eliminated Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) ... Both sides are already eliminated Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) ... If Hong Kong lose, they need China to lose their final matches else they are eliminated Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Teams in Bold have qualified for Round Three
Please, please, please, for your own sake, get out more.
So today / tonight sees the return of Qualification, as promised next week there will be a full update on what happens over the next few days... Due to time differences, Asian games are set to kick off so will be providing score updates from FIFA.
Australia v Tajikistan ... (2-0 - LIVE) ... If Australia win and Jordan do not, they will qualify for Round Three Luongo (2'), Jedinak (12' pen)
Japan v Afghanistan ... (10:34) South Korea v Lebanon ... (11:00) ... Lebanon need one point from their last two games to overtake the suspended Kuwait China v Maldives ... (11:35) ... China must equal or better Hong Kong's result today else they are eliminated Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) ... Vietnam must win and hope that Iraq lose else they are eliminated Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) ... If Jordan lose they risk being eliminated on Saturday Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00) Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) ... If Iraq win today, along with their final game, they will overtake Thailand to top the Group. Iran v India ... (14:30) ... If Iran win and Oman do not, they will qualify for Round Three Oman v Guam ... (15:00) ... A win for Oman will eliminate Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) ... If Palestine lose they are eliminated Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) ... Both sides are already eliminated Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) ... If Hong Kong lose, they need China to lose their final matches else they are eliminated Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Teams in Bold have qualified for Round Three
Please, please, please, for your own sake, get out more.
You can come and play golf with me if you like.
Its a gonna be a very slow day at work so thought I'd keep myself occupied...
So today / tonight sees the return of Qualification, as promised next week there will be a full update on what happens over the next few days... Due to time differences, Asian games are set to kick off so will be providing score updates from FIFA.
Australia v Tajikistan ... (2-0 - LIVE) ... If Australia win and Jordan do not, they will qualify for Round Three Luongo (2'), Jedinak (12' pen)
Japan v Afghanistan ... (10:34) South Korea v Lebanon ... (11:00) ... Lebanon need one point from their last two games to overtake the suspended Kuwait China v Maldives ... (11:35) ... China must equal or better Hong Kong's result today else they are eliminated Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) ... Vietnam must win and hope that Iraq lose else they are eliminated Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) ... If Jordan lose they risk being eliminated on Saturday Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00) Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) ... If Iraq win today, along with their final game, they will overtake Thailand to top the Group. Iran v India ... (14:30) ... If Iran win and Oman do not, they will qualify for Round Three Oman v Guam ... (15:00) ... A win for Oman will eliminate Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) ... If Palestine lose they are eliminated Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) ... Both sides are already eliminated Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) ... If Hong Kong lose, they need China to lose their final matches else they are eliminated Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Teams in Bold have qualified for Round Three
Please, please, please, for your own sake, get out more.
You can come and play golf with me if you like.
Its a gonna be a very slow day at work so thought I'd keep myself occupied...
Where do you play Golf?
Member at Warley Park in Brentwood mate. Sadly I'm more Chris Woods than Tiger Woods
So today / tonight sees the return of Qualification, as promised next week there will be a full update on what happens over the next few days... Due to time differences, Asian games are set to kick off so will be providing score updates from FIFA.
Australia v Tajikistan ... (2-0 - LIVE) ... If Australia win and Jordan do not, they will qualify for Round Three Luongo (2'), Jedinak (12' pen)
Japan v Afghanistan ... (10:34) South Korea v Lebanon ... (11:00) ... Lebanon need one point from their last two games to overtake the suspended Kuwait China v Maldives ... (11:35) ... China must equal or better Hong Kong's result today else they are eliminated Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) ... Vietnam must win and hope that Iraq lose else they are eliminated Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) ... If Jordan lose they risk being eliminated on Saturday Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00) Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) ... If Iraq win today, along with their final game, they will overtake Thailand to top the Group. Iran v India ... (14:30) ... If Iran win and Oman do not, they will qualify for Round Three Oman v Guam ... (15:00) ... A win for Oman will eliminate Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) ... If Palestine lose they are eliminated Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) ... Both sides are already eliminated Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) ... If Hong Kong lose, they need China to lose their final matches else they are eliminated Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Teams in Bold have qualified for Round Three
Please, please, please, for your own sake, get out more.
You can come and play golf with me if you like.
Its a gonna be a very slow day at work so thought I'd keep myself occupied...
Where do you play Golf?
Member at Warley Park in Brentwood mate. Sadly I'm more Chris Woods than Tiger Woods
I'm more "Lost my Ball in the Woods" rather than any bloke with the surname Woods!!
Either way can we get this thread back on a serious track, there are teams here who are dreaming of qualifying for the greatest prize in Football... THE WORLD CUP... Now its more than what can be said for Scotland as they dont even bother dreaming!!
So today / tonight sees the return of Qualification, as promised next week there will be a full update on what happens over the next few days... Due to time differences, Asian games are set to kick off so will be providing score updates from FIFA.
Australia v Tajikistan ... (2-0 - LIVE) ... If Australia win and Jordan do not, they will qualify for Round Three Luongo (2'), Jedinak (12' pen)
Japan v Afghanistan ... (10:34) South Korea v Lebanon ... (11:00) ... Lebanon need one point from their last two games to overtake the suspended Kuwait China v Maldives ... (11:35) ... China must equal or better Hong Kong's result today else they are eliminated Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) ... Vietnam must win and hope that Iraq lose else they are eliminated Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) ... If Jordan lose they risk being eliminated on Saturday Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00) Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) ... If Iraq win today, along with their final game, they will overtake Thailand to top the Group. Iran v India ... (14:30) ... If Iran win and Oman do not, they will qualify for Round Three Oman v Guam ... (15:00) ... A win for Oman will eliminate Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) ... If Palestine lose they are eliminated Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) ... Both sides are already eliminated Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) ... If Hong Kong lose, they need China to lose their final matches else they are eliminated Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Teams in Bold have qualified for Round Three
Please, please, please, for your own sake, get out more.
You can come and play golf with me if you like.
Its a gonna be a very slow day at work so thought I'd keep myself occupied...
Where do you play Golf?
Member at Warley Park in Brentwood mate. Sadly I'm more Chris Woods than Tiger Woods
I'm more "Lost my Ball in the Woods" rather than any bloke with the surname Woods!!
I had you down as more "dogging in Castle woods" that was where we met after all.
Really hope Palestine get a result. All hinges on Abdullah Jaber passing a late fitness test to be honest.
Hinges more on that wonderkid Ahmad Abu Nahyeh... 24-years old, has four goals in Qualification for the mighty Lions of Canaan
Do you think he will start ahead of Ashraf Nu'man?
Abdel Nasser Barkara isn't the sort of manager to drop his talisman
Depends doesnt it... If Hamdan Al-Kamali is playing in Defence for the Whites (Seriously how can you make fun of the UAE when they've a nickname like that) then you have to argue that Mahdi Ali's job will be a bit easier when it comes to countering Ashraf Nu'man
Despite the apparent piss taking on this thread at present I'd just like to draw attention for the real fans of World Cup Qualification... In the words of Martin Tyler and Sky Sports.
The second half between Australia and Tajikistan has begun... and its LIVE!!
to keep an eye on scores would suggest futbol24 on appstore it is so fast, has virtually every game on there from wc qaulifiers to u17 matches, currently australia are winning 3-0
to keep an eye on scores would suggest futbol24 on appstore it is so fast, has virtually every game on there from wc qaulifiers to u17 matches, currently australia are winning 3-0
Yeah I know... Look at my 9am post...
To be honest I've abandoned the FIFA O/S and am using the Australian Twitter feed now... Either they're extremely biased or Tajikistan are doing sod all as they've barely been mentioned
Thankfully the Japan Twitter feed is in English so am ready to go with that one in 11mins.
Japan v Afghanistan ... (0-0 - LIVE) South Korea v Lebanon ... (0-0 - LIVE)
China v Maldives ... (11:35) Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00) Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) Iran v India ... (14:30) Oman v Guam ... (15:00) United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Because of the Easter Break my report on the latest from World Cup Qualifying is a little bit late and for that reason, both sets of fixtures from last week and this will be included in the same report… With the second round of qualifying being completed in Asia, expect a long report with some exciting results.
South America To be honest it’s difficult to post on South American Qualifying as quite simply its nothing more than a league with the top nations qualifying (almost like the Premier League teams reaching the Champions League) so in terms of reaching further rounds, it doesn’t get very exciting…
Everyone has now lost at least one match though… Ecuador were the only team who hadn’t lost going into these fixtures yet a 2-2 with Paraguay on Thursday was followed up with a 3-1 defeat away at Colombia, with one point from two matches, Ecuador have now dropped to second in the standings behind Uruguay…
Of course South America is all about the two giants: Argentina and Brazil, the former currently occupy third yet are only in the qualification spots by two points, whilst Brazil are currently the last side who’ll miss out on qualification, they sit sixth and one point outside of Qualification (although fifth place would mean they’d be forced to take the Play-Off route against the winners from Oceania).
In terms of results; Argentina won both their matches this round (against Chile and Bolivia), whilst Brazil could only manage two draws (against Uruguay and Paraguay), the latter saw Daniel Alves scoring a 92min equaliser… Is it possible that one of the greatest Footballing countries will be missing from Russia?
North America As there are no South American CharltonLifers that I’m aware of, this is the first visit to a Continent which does involve interested parties on here…
Group A Quite simply; Mexico are through to the final qualifying round which is no surprise given their pedigree, they’ve won all four matches and have yet to concede… The final spot is up for grabs though with Honduras and Canada locked on four points, El Salvador may be bottom with two points but with two games to play they’re still alive. Mexico (12) / Honduras (4) / Canada (4) / El Salvador (2)
Group B No one has qualified from this group yet but Costa Rica the surprise package from Brazil should surely reach the next stage, they have 10-points and lead Panama by a three point gap, a further three points back are Jamaica (which is surprising after they reached the Gold Cup Final recently) with Haiti bringing up the rear on just a single point who are all but out of the competition. Costa Rica (10) / Panama (7) / Jamaica (4) / Haiti (1)
Group C St Vincent and the Grenadines have been eliminated yet at risk of joining them are the United States… the latter sit only a point ahead of Guatemala after losing the first encounter (2-0) on Friday, normality returned though as the United States continued their incredible home run by winning 4-0, with Trinidad & Tobago top of the group, and with both teams still to face the group leaders, those matches will be key to who qualifies. Trinidad & Tobago (10) / United States (7) / Guatemala (6) / St Vincent (0)
Asia And so we come to the final round of fixtures for Round Two… there have been some great stories from this competition with both Guam and Bhutan recording their first wins in World Cup Qualification, sadly for those two sides they won’t be going to Russia but it’s time to find out who is.
Group A With Saudi Arabia already through to the next stage, it was left to the United Arab Emirates and Palestine to fight it out for the final spot… In the end it was a bit of a non-event, the United Arab Emirates secured a 2-0 win to secure them second place… So they will join Saudi Arabia in the next round after becoming the third best second place side. Saudi Arabia (20) / UAE (17) / Palestine (12) / Malaysia (4) / East Timor (2)
Group B In this group, the big news was that Harry Redknapp had been drafted in to aid Jordan and their bid to reach their first World Cup Finals… Sadly it didn’t work as Harry was unable to call on Crouch and Defoe for the first time, both Australia and Jordan went into the final round of fixtures a point apart yet a 5-1 win for Australia ensured that they qualified and ensured that Jordan would be eliminated as only the sixth best runner-up. Australia (21) / Jordan (16) / Kyrgyzstan (14) / Tajikistan (5) / Bangladesh (1)
Group C @JessieAddick should hang her head in shame at the lack of belief for her country; an interview conducted by myself with Jessie saw very little words but no faith in China’s ability to qualify… It was always a long shot for Hong Kong to progress and with a game in hand China would steal second place right at the death, as you’ll see later, final day drama would see China beat Qatar (their sole defeat) and so occupy the fourth and final second place qualifying spot. Qatar (21) / China (17) / Hong Kong (14) / Maldives (6) / Bhutan (0)
Group D As one of the biggest defenders of Reza’s inclusion against Sheffield Wednesday I can finally say that I give up… A 4-0 win over India followed by a 2-0 win over Oman would see Iran qualify for the next stage (as expected) yet having travelled at that way there was zero game time for our Iranian… Not what you need in a relegation battle, it would be the end of the road for Oman who despite finishing second were only the seventh best so have been eliminated. Iran (20) / Oman (14) / Turkmenistan (13) / Guam (7) / India (3)
Group E Surely the biggest group when it comes to war torn countries when you have Syria and Afghanistan in the same group yet hats off to both sides… Syria are through to the next round as the second best runner ups despite losing to Group winners: Japan 7-0 in the last game… With Afghanistan already out of the competition it was still a great result to beat Singapore 2-1 and so finish the campaign. Japan (22) / Syria (18) / Singapore (10) / Afghanistan (9) / Cambodia (0)
Group F When I come to the final group, people may wonder how the second place standings have been decided based on the number of points that teams have obtained… Basically Indonesia was thrown out of the competition due to a FIFA suspension so results against the team who finishes fifth in each group are ignored… Both Thailand (Group winners) and Iraq qualified from this group with the latter being the best second placed side. Thailand (14) / Iraq (12) / Vietnam (7) / Chinese Taipei (0)
Group G Another side who have been suspended from FIFA is Kuwait, this happened during qualification so Kuwait were in pole position to reach the Third Round… South Korea naturally won the group yet with the door open it was left to Lebanon to try snatch second place, that they did but finished as the worst second placed team so it doesn’t really matter, they too have been eliminated. South Korea (21) / Lebanon (11) / Kuwait (10) / Myanmar (8) / Laos (1)
Group H And so we come to the final group… North Korea went into the final fixtures in first place yet had played a game more than Uzbekistan who would beat Yemen 1-0 and so snatch top spot and qualifying, this would leave North Korea requiring just a point to finish as one of the best second placed sides, standing in the way were the Philippines… Come 80mins and North Korea were 2-1 up and cruising yet two goals (with the last coming on 90mins) would see the Philippines win 3-2, that result saw North Korea eliminated (quite literary if Kim Jung-Il has had his way) with China taking their place in the next round (that’s allies for you!!) Uzbekistan (21) / North Korea (16) / Philippines (10) / Bahrain (9) / Yemen (3)
So that concludes the Second Round of Qualifying for Asia… Twelve teams are left and will go into two Groups of six (with Home / Away fixtures), with the top two sides from each group qualifying for the World Cup whilst the third place teams will play-off against each other before a further play-off against a side from North America.
The FIFA rankings to decide the seedings for the groups (these will be released on 7 April 2016) with the draw happening on the 12 April 2016 put it in your diary folks, those teams going through to the Judges Houses ARE!!!
Iran / United Arab Emirates / Iraq / Japan / Australia / China / South Korea / Uzbekistan / Thailand / Saudi Arabia / Qatar / Syria
Asia And so we come to the final round of fixtures for Round Two… there have been some great stories from this competition with both Guam and Bhutan recording their first wins in World Cup Qualification, sadly for those two sides they won’t be going to Russia but it’s time to find out who is.
Group A With Saudi Arabia already through to the next stage, it was left to the United Arab Emirates and Palestine to fight it out for the final spot… In the end it was a bit of a non-event, the United Arab Emirates secured a 2-0 win to secure them second place… So they will join Saudi Arabia in the next round after becoming the third best second place side. Saudi Arabia (20) / UAE (17) / Palestine (12) / Malaysia (4) / East Timor (2)
Group B In this group, the big news was that Harry Redknapp had been drafted in to aid Jordan and their bid to reach their first World Cup Finals… Sadly it didn’t work as Harry was unable to call on Crouch and Defoe for the first time, both Australia and Jordan went into the final round of fixtures a point apart yet a 5-1 win for Australia ensured that they qualified and ensured that Jordan would be eliminated as only the sixth best runner-up. Australia (21) / Jordan (16) / Kyrgyzstan (14) / Tajikistan (5) / Bangladesh (1)
Group C @JessieAddick should hang her head in shame at the lack of belief for her country; an interview conducted by myself with Jessie saw very little words but no faith in China’s ability to qualify… It was always a long shot for Hong Kong to progress and with a game in hand China would steal second place right at the death, as you’ll see later, final day drama would see China beat Qatar (their sole defeat) and so occupy the fourth and final second place qualifying spot. Qatar (21) / China (17) / Hong Kong (14) / Maldives (6) / Bhutan (0)
Group D As one of the biggest defenders of Reza’s inclusion against Sheffield Wednesday I can finally say that I give up… A 4-0 win over India followed by a 2-0 win over Oman would see Iran qualify for the next stage (as expected) yet having travelled at that way there was zero game time for our Iranian… Not what you need in a relegation battle, it would be the end of the road for Oman who despite finishing second were only the seventh best so have been eliminated. Iran (20) / Oman (14) / Turkmenistan (13) / Guam (7) / India (3)
Group E Surely the biggest group when it comes to war torn countries when you have Syria and Afghanistan in the same group yet hats off to both sides… Syria are through to the next round as the second best runner ups despite losing to Group winners: Japan 7-0 in the last game… With Afghanistan already out of the competition it was still a great result to beat Singapore 2-1 and so finish the campaign. Japan (22) / Syria (18) / Singapore (10) / Afghanistan (9) / Cambodia (0)
Group F When I come to the final group, people may wonder how the second place standings have been decided based on the number of points that teams have obtained… Basically Indonesia was thrown out of the competition due to a FIFA suspension so results against the team who finishes fifth in each group are ignored… Both Thailand (Group winners) and Iraq qualified from this group with the latter being the best second placed side. Thailand (14) / Iraq (12) / Vietnam (7) / Chinese Taipei (0)
Group G Another side who have been suspended from FIFA is Kuwait, this happened during qualification so Kuwait were in pole position to reach the Third Round… South Korea naturally won the group yet with the door open it was left to Lebanon to try snatch second place, that they did but finished as the worst second placed team so it doesn’t really matter, they too have been eliminated. South Korea (21) / Lebanon (11) / Kuwait (10) / Myanmar (8) / Laos (1)
Group H And so we come to the final group… North Korea went into the final fixtures in first place yet had played a game more than Uzbekistan who would beat Yemen 1-0 and so snatch top spot and qualifying, this would leave North Korea requiring just a point to finish as one of the best second placed sides, standing in the way were the Philippines… Come 80mins and North Korea were 2-1 up and cruising yet two goals (with the last coming on 90mins) would see the Philippines win 3-2, that result saw North Korea eliminated (quite literary if Kim Jung-Il has had his way) with China taking their place in the next round (that’s allies for you!!) Uzbekistan (21) / North Korea (16) / Philippines (10) / Bahrain (9) / Yemen (3)
So that concludes the Second Round of Qualifying for Asia… Twelve teams are left and will go into two Groups of six (with Home / Away fixtures), with the top two sides from each group qualifying for the World Cup whilst the third place teams will play-off against each other before a further play-off against a side from North America.
The FIFA rankings to decide the seedings for the groups (these will be released on 7 April 2016) with the draw happening on the 12 April 2016 put it in your diary folks, those teams going through to the Judges Houses ARE!!!
Iran / United Arab Emirates / Iraq / Japan / Australia / China / South Korea / Uzbekistan / Thailand / Saudi Arabia / Qatar / Syria
Do you think Palestine will make it? My Shabab Al-Dhahiriy supporting mate isn't convinced.
Asia And so we come to the final round of fixtures for Round Two… there have been some great stories from this competition with both Guam and Bhutan recording their first wins in World Cup Qualification, sadly for those two sides they won’t be going to Russia but it’s time to find out who is.
Group A With Saudi Arabia already through to the next stage, it was left to the United Arab Emirates and Palestine to fight it out for the final spot… In the end it was a bit of a non-event, the United Arab Emirates secured a 2-0 win to secure them second place… So they will join Saudi Arabia in the next round after becoming the third best second place side. Saudi Arabia (20) / UAE (17) / Palestine (12) / Malaysia (4) / East Timor (2)
Group B In this group, the big news was that Harry Redknapp had been drafted in to aid Jordan and their bid to reach their first World Cup Finals… Sadly it didn’t work as Harry was unable to call on Crouch and Defoe for the first time, both Australia and Jordan went into the final round of fixtures a point apart yet a 5-1 win for Australia ensured that they qualified and ensured that Jordan would be eliminated as only the sixth best runner-up. Australia (21) / Jordan (16) / Kyrgyzstan (14) / Tajikistan (5) / Bangladesh (1)
Group C @JessieAddick should hang her head in shame at the lack of belief for her country; an interview conducted by myself with Jessie saw very little words but no faith in China’s ability to qualify… It was always a long shot for Hong Kong to progress and with a game in hand China would steal second place right at the death, as you’ll see later, final day drama would see China beat Qatar (their sole defeat) and so occupy the fourth and final second place qualifying spot. Qatar (21) / China (17) / Hong Kong (14) / Maldives (6) / Bhutan (0)
Group D As one of the biggest defenders of Reza’s inclusion against Sheffield Wednesday I can finally say that I give up… A 4-0 win over India followed by a 2-0 win over Oman would see Iran qualify for the next stage (as expected) yet having travelled at that way there was zero game time for our Iranian… Not what you need in a relegation battle, it would be the end of the road for Oman who despite finishing second were only the seventh best so have been eliminated. Iran (20) / Oman (14) / Turkmenistan (13) / Guam (7) / India (3)
Group E Surely the biggest group when it comes to war torn countries when you have Syria and Afghanistan in the same group yet hats off to both sides… Syria are through to the next round as the second best runner ups despite losing to Group winners: Japan 7-0 in the last game… With Afghanistan already out of the competition it was still a great result to beat Singapore 2-1 and so finish the campaign. Japan (22) / Syria (18) / Singapore (10) / Afghanistan (9) / Cambodia (0)
Group F When I come to the final group, people may wonder how the second place standings have been decided based on the number of points that teams have obtained… Basically Indonesia was thrown out of the competition due to a FIFA suspension so results against the team who finishes fifth in each group are ignored… Both Thailand (Group winners) and Iraq qualified from this group with the latter being the best second placed side. Thailand (14) / Iraq (12) / Vietnam (7) / Chinese Taipei (0)
Group G Another side who have been suspended from FIFA is Kuwait, this happened during qualification so Kuwait were in pole position to reach the Third Round… South Korea naturally won the group yet with the door open it was left to Lebanon to try snatch second place, that they did but finished as the worst second placed team so it doesn’t really matter, they too have been eliminated. South Korea (21) / Lebanon (11) / Kuwait (10) / Myanmar (8) / Laos (1)
Group H And so we come to the final group… North Korea went into the final fixtures in first place yet had played a game more than Uzbekistan who would beat Yemen 1-0 and so snatch top spot and qualifying, this would leave North Korea requiring just a point to finish as one of the best second placed sides, standing in the way were the Philippines… Come 80mins and North Korea were 2-1 up and cruising yet two goals (with the last coming on 90mins) would see the Philippines win 3-2, that result saw North Korea eliminated (quite literary if Kim Jung-Il has had his way) with China taking their place in the next round (that’s allies for you!!) Uzbekistan (21) / North Korea (16) / Philippines (10) / Bahrain (9) / Yemen (3)
So that concludes the Second Round of Qualifying for Asia… Twelve teams are left and will go into two Groups of six (with Home / Away fixtures), with the top two sides from each group qualifying for the World Cup whilst the third place teams will play-off against each other before a further play-off against a side from North America.
The FIFA rankings to decide the seedings for the groups (these will be released on 7 April 2016) with the draw happening on the 12 April 2016 put it in your diary folks, those teams going through to the Judges Houses ARE!!!
Iran / United Arab Emirates / Iraq / Japan / Australia / China / South Korea / Uzbekistan / Thailand / Saudi Arabia / Qatar / Syria
Do you think Palestine will make it? My Shabab Al-Dhahiriy supporting mate isn't convinced.
Comments
Australia v Tajikistan ... (4-0 - LIVE) ... If Australia win and Jordan do not, they will qualify for Round Three
Luongo (2'), Jedinak (12' pen), Milligan (57' pen), Burns (67')
Japan v Afghanistan ... (10:34)
South Korea v Lebanon ... (11:00) ... Lebanon need one point from their last two games to overtake the suspended Kuwait
China v Maldives ... (11:35) ... China must equal or better Hong Kong's result today else they are eliminated
Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00) ... Vietnam must win and hope that Iraq lose else they are eliminated
Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30) ... If Jordan lose they risk being eliminated on Saturday
Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00)
Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00) ... If Iraq win today, along with their final game, they will overtake Thailand to top the Group.
Iran v India ... (14:30) ... If Iran win and Oman do not, they will qualify for Round Three
Oman v Guam ... (15:00) ... A win for Oman will eliminate Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00) ... If Palestine lose they are eliminated
Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30) ... Both sides are already eliminated
Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00) ... If Hong Kong lose, they need China to lose their final matches else they are eliminated
Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Teams in Bold have qualified for Round Three
You can come and play golf with me if you like.
Where do you play Golf?
Really hope Palestine get a result. All hinges on Abdullah Jaber passing a late fitness test to be honest.
Abdel Nasser Barkara isn't the sort of manager to drop his talisman
Which @Socceroos player stood out for you in the first 45? 2-0 #GoSocceroos #AUSvTJK Match Centre: http://ffaus.co/1PS5BzP
SUBS | Who would you like to see come off the bench? 2-0 #GoSocceroos #AUSvTJK Match Centre: http://ffaus.co/1PS5BzP
The second half between Australia and Tajikistan has begun... and its LIVE!!
Its like the old joke... What time does the match start?... Well depends what time you can get here for
To be honest I've abandoned the FIFA O/S and am using the Australian Twitter feed now... Either they're extremely biased or Tajikistan are doing sod all as they've barely been mentioned
Thankfully the Japan Twitter feed is in English so am ready to go with that one in 11mins.
Japan v Afghanistan ... (0-0 - LIVE)
South Korea v Lebanon ... (0-0 - LIVE)
China v Maldives ... (11:35)
Vietnam v Chinese Taipei ... (12:00)
Jordan v Bangladesh ... (12:30)
Uzbekistan v The Philippines ... (13:00)
Iraq v Thailand ... (14:00)
Iran v India ... (14:30)
Oman v Guam ... (15:00)
United Arab Emirates v Palestine ... (15:00)
Bahrain v Yemen ... (15:30)
Qatar v Hong Kong ... (16:00)
Syria v Cambodia ... (16:00)
Vietnam won 4-1
Exciting stuff
South America
To be honest it’s difficult to post on South American Qualifying as quite simply its nothing more than a league with the top nations qualifying (almost like the Premier League teams reaching the Champions League) so in terms of reaching further rounds, it doesn’t get very exciting…
Everyone has now lost at least one match though… Ecuador were the only team who hadn’t lost going into these fixtures yet a 2-2 with Paraguay on Thursday was followed up with a 3-1 defeat away at Colombia, with one point from two matches, Ecuador have now dropped to second in the standings behind Uruguay…
Of course South America is all about the two giants: Argentina and Brazil, the former currently occupy third yet are only in the qualification spots by two points, whilst Brazil are currently the last side who’ll miss out on qualification, they sit sixth and one point outside of Qualification (although fifth place would mean they’d be forced to take the Play-Off route against the winners from Oceania).
In terms of results; Argentina won both their matches this round (against Chile and Bolivia), whilst Brazil could only manage two draws (against Uruguay and Paraguay), the latter saw Daniel Alves scoring a 92min equaliser… Is it possible that one of the greatest Footballing countries will be missing from Russia?
North America
As there are no South American CharltonLifers that I’m aware of, this is the first visit to a Continent which does involve interested parties on here…
Group A
Quite simply; Mexico are through to the final qualifying round which is no surprise given their pedigree, they’ve won all four matches and have yet to concede… The final spot is up for grabs though with Honduras and Canada locked on four points, El Salvador may be bottom with two points but with two games to play they’re still alive.
Mexico (12) / Honduras (4) / Canada (4) / El Salvador (2)
Group B
No one has qualified from this group yet but Costa Rica the surprise package from Brazil should surely reach the next stage, they have 10-points and lead Panama by a three point gap, a further three points back are Jamaica (which is surprising after they reached the Gold Cup Final recently) with Haiti bringing up the rear on just a single point who are all but out of the competition.
Costa Rica (10) / Panama (7) / Jamaica (4) / Haiti (1)
Group C
St Vincent and the Grenadines have been eliminated yet at risk of joining them are the United States… the latter sit only a point ahead of Guatemala after losing the first encounter (2-0) on Friday, normality returned though as the United States continued their incredible home run by winning 4-0, with Trinidad & Tobago top of the group, and with both teams still to face the group leaders, those matches will be key to who qualifies.
Trinidad & Tobago (10) / United States (7) / Guatemala (6) / St Vincent (0)
And so we come to the final round of fixtures for Round Two… there have been some great stories from this competition with both Guam and Bhutan recording their first wins in World Cup Qualification, sadly for those two sides they won’t be going to Russia but it’s time to find out who is.
Group A
With Saudi Arabia already through to the next stage, it was left to the United Arab Emirates and Palestine to fight it out for the final spot… In the end it was a bit of a non-event, the United Arab Emirates secured a 2-0 win to secure them second place… So they will join Saudi Arabia in the next round after becoming the third best second place side.
Saudi Arabia (20) / UAE (17) / Palestine (12) / Malaysia (4) / East Timor (2)
Group B
In this group, the big news was that Harry Redknapp had been drafted in to aid Jordan and their bid to reach their first World Cup Finals… Sadly it didn’t work as Harry was unable to call on Crouch and Defoe for the first time, both Australia and Jordan went into the final round of fixtures a point apart yet a 5-1 win for Australia ensured that they qualified and ensured that Jordan would be eliminated as only the sixth best runner-up.
Australia (21) / Jordan (16) / Kyrgyzstan (14) / Tajikistan (5) / Bangladesh (1)
Group C
@JessieAddick should hang her head in shame at the lack of belief for her country; an interview conducted by myself with Jessie saw very little words but no faith in China’s ability to qualify… It was always a long shot for Hong Kong to progress and with a game in hand China would steal second place right at the death, as you’ll see later, final day drama would see China beat Qatar (their sole defeat) and so occupy the fourth and final second place qualifying spot.
Qatar (21) / China (17) / Hong Kong (14) / Maldives (6) / Bhutan (0)
Group D
As one of the biggest defenders of Reza’s inclusion against Sheffield Wednesday I can finally say that I give up… A 4-0 win over India followed by a 2-0 win over Oman would see Iran qualify for the next stage (as expected) yet having travelled at that way there was zero game time for our Iranian… Not what you need in a relegation battle, it would be the end of the road for Oman who despite finishing second were only the seventh best so have been eliminated.
Iran (20) / Oman (14) / Turkmenistan (13) / Guam (7) / India (3)
Group E
Surely the biggest group when it comes to war torn countries when you have Syria and Afghanistan in the same group yet hats off to both sides… Syria are through to the next round as the second best runner ups despite losing to Group winners: Japan 7-0 in the last game… With Afghanistan already out of the competition it was still a great result to beat Singapore 2-1 and so finish the campaign.
Japan (22) / Syria (18) / Singapore (10) / Afghanistan (9) / Cambodia (0)
Group F
When I come to the final group, people may wonder how the second place standings have been decided based on the number of points that teams have obtained… Basically Indonesia was thrown out of the competition due to a FIFA suspension so results against the team who finishes fifth in each group are ignored… Both Thailand (Group winners) and Iraq qualified from this group with the latter being the best second placed side.
Thailand (14) / Iraq (12) / Vietnam (7) / Chinese Taipei (0)
Group G
Another side who have been suspended from FIFA is Kuwait, this happened during qualification so Kuwait were in pole position to reach the Third Round… South Korea naturally won the group yet with the door open it was left to Lebanon to try snatch second place, that they did but finished as the worst second placed team so it doesn’t really matter, they too have been eliminated.
South Korea (21) / Lebanon (11) / Kuwait (10) / Myanmar (8) / Laos (1)
Group H
And so we come to the final group… North Korea went into the final fixtures in first place yet had played a game more than Uzbekistan who would beat Yemen 1-0 and so snatch top spot and qualifying, this would leave North Korea requiring just a point to finish as one of the best second placed sides, standing in the way were the Philippines… Come 80mins and North Korea were 2-1 up and cruising yet two goals (with the last coming on 90mins) would see the Philippines win 3-2, that result saw North Korea eliminated (quite literary if Kim Jung-Il has had his way) with China taking their place in the next round (that’s allies for you!!)
Uzbekistan (21) / North Korea (16) / Philippines (10) / Bahrain (9) / Yemen (3)
So that concludes the Second Round of Qualifying for Asia… Twelve teams are left and will go into two Groups of six (with Home / Away fixtures), with the top two sides from each group qualifying for the World Cup whilst the third place teams will play-off against each other before a further play-off against a side from North America.
The FIFA rankings to decide the seedings for the groups (these will be released on 7 April 2016) with the draw happening on the 12 April 2016 put it in your diary folks, those teams going through to the Judges Houses ARE!!!
Iran / United Arab Emirates / Iraq / Japan / Australia / China / South Korea / Uzbekistan / Thailand / Saudi Arabia / Qatar / Syria
Palestine are out fella!!