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.
Dont you ever read my insightful posts...?
Palestine are out fella!!
In a word No - you post far to many intelligent insights for me. I just comment.
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.
Dont you ever read my insightful posts...?
Palestine are out fella!!
In a word No - you post far to many intelligent insights for me. I just comment.
Do you want me to add pictures and use finger puppets next time?
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.
Dont you ever read my insightful posts...?
Palestine are out fella!!
In a word No - you post far to many intelligent insights for me. I just comment.
Do you want me to add pictures and use finger puppets next time?
Please mate. Finger puppets - aren't they what Thuram used to wear when he 'played' for us?
Fantastic write up. Was very excited about Guatemala's win over the US for my wife's family there, although it was a disappointment that they lost the return game a few days later. Losing to Trinidad and Tobago at the start of the campaign will be costly but if they manage to beat them in the next game they could get through to the last stage.
Without me realising, World Cup Qualification has once again resumed…
Firstly getting the boring bits out the way first…
The draw for the 3rd Round of Asian Qualifying has been completed, the remaining twelve teams have been placed into two groups of six… Quite simply, the two winners will advance to the World Cup whilst the two sides that finish in third will play-off against each other, the winners of that match will then play an Intercontinental Play-off against a team from North America.
Group A Iran … South Korea … Uzbekistan … China … Qatar ... Syria
Group B Australia … Japan … Saudi Arabia … United Arab Emirates … Iraq … Thailand
Now on to the slightly more interesting bit (Yes I know I need to get out more but it’s a slow summer and at least it gives people something else to read other than the Managers thread which is going nowhere fast)
As we all know the European Championships will be commencing shortly whilst I’m sure the more clued up Football fans will also know that the Copa America begins this Friday… Of course as per tradition the winners each competition will then take part in the Confederations Cup next summer which is being held in Russia as a warm-up to the World Cup
Note… the winners of the last Copa America have already qualified for the Confederations Cup (Chile) whilst if Russia or Germany win the Euros, the European spot will go to the next best FIFA Member who have not yet qualified (I guess at the moment: Belgium), this is because Russia are the hosts and Germany are the current World Cup winners so qualify on that basis.
So at present the Qualification spots for the Confederations Cup are as thus…
Russia (Hosts) / Germany (World Cup) / Australia (Asian Cup) / Chile (Copa America) / Mexico (Gold Cup)
With the last European spot confirmed on the 10th July 2016; that leaves just two more places to be filled… One spot will be filled by the winners of the African Nations Cup in 2017… the other spot to be filled from the winners of the Oceania Nations Cup which is being held at the moment and will be decided come mid-June.
BUT… I hear you (dear reader) shout… This thread is about World Cup Qualification NOT Confederations Cup Qualification, why is yet another CharltonLife thread going off topic…?
Well keep reading (Unless you’ve either given up or fallen asleep) and you’ll find out.
Putting jokes aside for a minute. The whole point of me covering the world of World Cup Qualification began thanks to the brilliant documentary that was: Next Goal Wins, which covered American Samoa’s attempts to regain their pride after losing so heavily to Australia many years ago.
My first article covered their Qualification process yet because there are so few nations; they’ve had to spread out the process meaning there have been no Qualification matches since I last covered them… Until now!!
Due to all the countries not being the closest to each other, the 2nd Round of World Cup Qualifying combines (briefly) with their Nations Cup… the eight countries left are split into two groups of four teams (playing each other just the once)… Basically the top two countries in each group advance in the Nations Cup whilst the top three countries in each group will advance to the third round of World Cup Qualification.
Group A Tahiti (Remember them from the previous Confederations Cup?) lead the way and have already qualified to the next stage in both competitions… Papua New Guinea occupy second spot yet only by a point and have played a game more than New Caledonia… Samoa (also having played a game less) sit bottom yet are only two points behind Papua New Guinea so any team can still reach the next stage of both competitions.
(Current Standings) Tahiti (4) … Papua New Guinea (2) … New Caledonia (1) … Samoa (0) Group B The sole powerhouse from Oceania is naturally New Zealand and they (like Tahiti) have qualified for the next stage in both competitions… Vanuatu sit bottom and look to have been eliminated, they’ll need to comfortably win their last game (due to goal difference) in order to progress.
The final round of fixtures will be played this Weekend with the two bottom sides advancing no further in World Cup Qualification, the top six sides will go into the 3rd Round (another two group stage) which will commence in March 2017.
The Copa America starts on Friday, not "later in the summer"
Cheers for that spot have amended my write-up... Always thought the Copa America started later that June
No it's around this time usually. Final last year was 4 July. Had the pleasure of watching it on a plane journey home.
Unfortunately for the Copa this year, nobody seems to give a shit. It's in the State, it was originally due to be in Brazil for the 100th anniversary but that changed when Brazil got the Olympics. There were difficulties organizing it. It's now ridiculously spread out (because USA), and I looked into tickets and they're obscenely expensive, and a lot have gone to the tout companies such as Stub Hub.
Brazil are sending a weakened team so they can focus on the Olympics. Argentina have picked a strong side but I'm just not convinced they'll be bothered. Colombia have picked a side short of all their quality forward up front, and their midfield and defense have long been not very good. Chile and Uruguay have picked the sides that basically won the last two (either/both worth a cheeky punt in my humble opinion). The States are going through a transition period and everyone has spent the last three years learning what Bayern Munich learned in three months, Jurgen Klinsmann is a rubbish coach.
It's also worth noting that this is normally a winter tournament, being played south of the equator. It'll now be played in 90-100F temps in the states.
Normally this is a tournament I try to watch as much of as I can. My little brother lives in Chile so watching last year's affair was great fun. But given there's only been a year between them, and given how much the States is, and how hot it will be, I'm not particularly excited this year.
League Football has taken yet another International break, and with the European Championships / COPA America complete it can mean only one thing… the whole world is racing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia!!
Asia As mentioned in my previous (insightful) articles we’re now at the business end of qualifying… Just twelve countries remain and in two groups of six the top two will qualify for Russia… One round of fixtures have been played with Iran | South Korea | Uzbekistan | Australia | United Arab Emirates | Saudi Arabia all recording victories, it’s a long way to go with a further 10-matches still to be played over the next year.
Africa Again we’re through to the final stage of qualifying and the twenty teams remaining have been put into groups of four teams… the five winners from each will qualify for Russia, with the first games due to be played today, this is how the groups line up…
Group A: Tunisia | Libya | DR Congo | Guinea Group B: Zambia | Cameroon | Algeria | Nigeria Group C: Gabon | Mali | Ivory Coast | Morocco Group D: Senegal | South Africa | Burkina Faso | Cape Verde Group E: Ghana | Egypt | Congo | Uganda
North America As per with the time zones, the latest round of matches have yet to be played in the CONCACAF Qualifying Zone… With the final two matches (of this round) being played over the next few days and with Mexico already through to the final stage, here is how everyone else stands:
Group A: Honduras and Canada are on equal points going into the final two matches, the two face either other in the final match yet Honduras still have to face Mexico so Canada must be favourites to advance.
Group B: Costa Rica have all but qualified for the final round whilst Panama are in pole position to join them… Jamaica three points back must beat Panama tonight in the hope they can still qualify.
Group C: Again Trinidad & Tobago have all but qualified meaning the last place is between the United States and Guatemala, with one home game left, with their impressive home record the USA must be favourites to advance
South America Matchday Seven has been completed and Argentina are now top of the table after winning 1-0 at home to Uruguay, Brazil still aren’t in the automatic qualifying spots yet after winning 3-0 against Ecuador are now just a point behind the three teams who sit second (Uruguay / Colombia / Ecuador all have 13-points)
Europe Seeing that this is the region we’ll all be paying attention to I won’t be covering it too much… All I can confirm is that despite not having played a game I can confirm that Scotland are somehow still in with a shout of qualifying (those hopes will no doubt be ended later on Sunday when they play Malta)
I understand that Kosova are due to play their first world cup match , after Fifa finally allowing their application. Players like Janusaz and Shaqiri have been granted special dispensation to switch allegiance if they want to. This has gone down very well with Serbia and the Russians are less than impressed as well.
I understand that Kosova are due to play their first world cup match , after Fifa finally allowing their application. Players like Janusaz and Shaqiri have been granted special dispensation to switch allegiance if they want to. This has gone down very well with Serbia and the Russians are less than impressed as well.
Correct... When the draw was made, Gibraltar wasnt recognised by FIFA despite being part of qualifying for the last Euros whilst I dont think Kosovo were recognised by either UEFA or FIFA at the time, both nations have now been added to the two Groups which originally only had five teams.
Gibraltar have ... Belgium | Bosnia | Greece | Estonia | Cyprus Kosovo have ... Croatia | Iceland | Ukraine | Turkey | Finland
It was decided this way because UEFA didnt think it would be a good idea to have Kosovo v Bosnia in the same Group so occasionally UEFA do actually use their brains, although the Croatia game might still be interesting
I understand that Kosova are due to play their first world cup match , after Fifa finally allowing their application. Players like Janusaz and Shaqiri have been granted special dispensation to switch allegiance if they want to. This has gone down very well with Serbia and the Russians are less than impressed as well.
Correct... When the draw was made, Gibraltar wasnt recognised by FIFA despite being part of qualifying for the last Euros whilst I dont think Kosovo were recognised by either UEFA or FIFA at the time, both nations have now been added to the two Groups which originally only had five teams.
Gibraltar have ... Belgium | Bosnia | Greece | Estonia | Cyprus Kosovo have ... Croatia | Iceland | Ukraine | Turkey | Finland
It was decided this way because UEFA didnt think it would be a good idea to have Kosovo v Bosnia in the same Group so occasionally UEFA do actually use their brains, although the Croatia game might still be interesting
Interesting and lively, both on and off the pitch!
Ran out of time to keep updating this thread but just want to give special mention to Syria!!
Should they beat Iran (Already Qualified) later today and South Korea lose to Uzbekistan then Syria will Qualify automatically for the World Cup... Great job from them with whats going on out there and they're having to play all "Home" matches out in Malaysia.
Of course provided Uzbekistan dont better the Syria result then regardless... Syria will finish third and so go into the Asian Qualifying Fourth Round where they'll face the third placed team from the other Group (either Saudi Arabia or Australia). If they win that match over two legs they'll then play an Inter-Continental Play-Off against the fourth placed team from North America which'll at present looks to be one of Honduras | Panama | United States
Zambia beat Algeria, to leave Algeria's hopes of qualifying in tatters...
I was wondering at what point Kashi would be again be considered for international duty?
He's only ever won a single cap... That surprised me when I looked into whether he'd be called up, then again I was always surprised that Zimbabwe never called up Pritchard
Zambia beat Algeria, to leave Algeria's hopes of qualifying in tatters...
I was wondering at what point Kashi would be again be considered for international duty?
He's only ever won a single cap... That surprised me when I looked into whether he'd be called up, then again I was always surprised that Zimbabwe never called up Pritchard
He made is debut in January 2015, but was then injured after September, I'm sure he would have made more appearances otherwise
Ran out of time to keep updating this thread but just want to give special mention to Syria!!
Should they beat Iran (Already Qualified) later today and South Korea lose to Uzbekistan then Syria will Qualify automatically for the World Cup... Great job from them with whats going on out there and they're having to play all "Home" matches out in Malaysia.
Of course provided Uzbekistan dont better the Syria result then regardless... Syria will finish third and so go into the Asian Qualifying Fourth Round where they'll face the third placed team from the other Group (either Saudi Arabia or Australia). If they win that match over two legs they'll then play an Inter-Continental Play-Off against the fourth placed team from North America which'll at present looks to be one of Honduras | Panama | United States
Ran out of time to keep updating this thread but just want to give special mention to Syria!!
Should they beat Iran (Already Qualified) later today and South Korea lose to Uzbekistan then Syria will Qualify automatically for the World Cup... Great job from them with whats going on out there and they're having to play all "Home" matches out in Malaysia.
Of course provided Uzbekistan dont better the Syria result then regardless... Syria will finish third and so go into the Asian Qualifying Fourth Round where they'll face the third placed team from the other Group (either Saudi Arabia or Australia). If they win that match over two legs they'll then play an Inter-Continental Play-Off against the fourth placed team from North America which'll at present looks to be one of Honduras | Panama | United States
Drew 2-2 with Iran and have got a play-off place.
Were out of it on 90mins as Uzbekistan drew 0-0 with South Korea (wonder if that was deliberate) yet Syria got a 93rd min goal... Hows that for drama
Saudi Arabia currently 0-0 with Japan... Unless they score; Australia are going to the World Cup again and Saudi Arabia have to settle for the Play-Off against Syria which is bloody good news after the attitude of the Saudi Arabia players in a match against Australia a few months ago when they refused to respect a minutes silence!!
League Football has taken yet another International break, and with the European Championships / COPA America complete it can mean only one thing… the whole world is racing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia!!
Asia As mentioned in my previous (insightful) articles we’re now at the business end of qualifying… Just twelve countries remain and in two groups of six the top two will qualify for Russia… One round of fixtures have been played with Iran | South Korea | Uzbekistan | Australia | United Arab Emirates | Saudi Arabia all recording victories, it’s a long way to go with a further 10-matches still to be played over the next year.
Africa Again we’re through to the final stage of qualifying and the twenty teams remaining have been put into groups of four teams… the five winners from each will qualify for Russia, with the first games due to be played today, this is how the groups line up…
Group A: Tunisia | Libya | DR Congo | Guinea Group B: Zambia | Cameroon | Algeria | Nigeria Group C: Gabon | Mali | Ivory Coast | Morocco Group D: Senegal | South Africa | Burkina Faso | Cape Verde Group E: Ghana | Egypt | Congo | Uganda
North America As per with the time zones, the latest round of matches have yet to be played in the CONCACAF Qualifying Zone… With the final two matches (of this round) being played over the next few days and with Mexico already through to the final stage, here is how everyone else stands:
Group A: Honduras and Canada are on equal points going into the final two matches, the two face either other in the final match yet Honduras still have to face Mexico so Canada must be favourites to advance.
Group B: Costa Rica have all but qualified for the final round whilst Panama are in pole position to join them… Jamaica three points back must beat Panama tonight in the hope they can still qualify.
Group C: Again Trinidad & Tobago have all but qualified meaning the last place is between the United States and Guatemala, with one home game left, with their impressive home record the USA must be favourites to advance
South America Matchday Seven has been completed and Argentina are now top of the table after winning 1-0 at home to Uruguay, Brazil still aren’t in the automatic qualifying spots yet after winning 3-0 against Ecuador are now just a point behind the three teams who sit second (Uruguay / Colombia / Ecuador all have 13-points)
Europe Seeing that this is the region we’ll all be paying attention to I won’t be covering it too much… All I can confirm is that despite not having played a game I can confirm that Scotland are somehow still in with a shout of qualifying (those hopes will no doubt be ended later on Sunday when they play Malta)
An oversight I'm sure but nobody has mentioned the Oceania qualifiers yet (New Zealand in case you're interested).
The All Whites drew 2-2 with the Solomon Islands in the early hours of this morning having beaten them 6-1 at home a week ago and now go on to face the 5th placed South American team (currently Argentina!) for a place in the WC Finals.
Saudi Arabia now lead 1-0 with 20mins to go... If they hold on they'll pip Australia to 2nd in the Group on Goal Difference, they'll then qualify for their first World Cup since 2006
Of course that'll mean Australia will be forced to settle for the Play-Off against Syria
Saudi Arabia now lead 1-0 with 20mins to go... If they hold on they'll pip Australia to 2nd in the Group on Goal Difference, they'll then qualify for their first World Cup since 2006
Of course that'll mean Australia will be forced to settle for the Play-Off against Syria
Yup Saudi Arabia win and Qualify for the World Cup so is Syria v Australia in the Play-Off
Have to admit if Syria do qualify and get United States and England in the Groups it'll certainly be interesting!!
Saudi Arabia now lead 1-0 with 20mins to go... If they hold on they'll pip Australia to 2nd in the Group on Goal Difference, they'll then qualify for their first World Cup since 2006
Of course that'll mean Australia will be forced to settle for the Play-Off against Syria
Yup Saudi Arabia win and Qualify for the World Cup so is Syria v Australia in the Play-Off
Have to admit if Syria do qualify and get United States and England in the Groups it'll certainly be interesting!!
Whoever wins the Australia v Syria tie will play the 4th place team from Concacaf which is presently the US
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Vamos Guate!
Firstly getting the boring bits out the way first…
The draw for the 3rd Round of Asian Qualifying has been completed, the remaining twelve teams have been placed into two groups of six… Quite simply, the two winners will advance to the World Cup whilst the two sides that finish in third will play-off against each other, the winners of that match will then play an Intercontinental Play-off against a team from North America.
Group A
Iran … South Korea … Uzbekistan … China … Qatar ... Syria
Group B
Australia … Japan … Saudi Arabia … United Arab Emirates … Iraq … Thailand
Now on to the slightly more interesting bit (Yes I know I need to get out more but it’s a slow summer and at least it gives people something else to read other than the Managers thread which is going nowhere fast)
As we all know the European Championships will be commencing shortly whilst I’m sure the more clued up Football fans will also know that the Copa America begins this Friday… Of course as per tradition the winners each competition will then take part in the Confederations Cup next summer which is being held in Russia as a warm-up to the World Cup
Note… the winners of the last Copa America have already qualified for the Confederations Cup (Chile) whilst if Russia or Germany win the Euros, the European spot will go to the next best FIFA Member who have not yet qualified (I guess at the moment: Belgium), this is because Russia are the hosts and Germany are the current World Cup winners so qualify on that basis.
So at present the Qualification spots for the Confederations Cup are as thus…
Russia (Hosts) / Germany (World Cup) / Australia (Asian Cup) / Chile (Copa America) / Mexico (Gold Cup)
With the last European spot confirmed on the 10th July 2016; that leaves just two more places to be filled… One spot will be filled by the winners of the African Nations Cup in 2017… the other spot to be filled from the winners of the Oceania Nations Cup which is being held at the moment and will be decided come mid-June.
BUT… I hear you (dear reader) shout… This thread is about World Cup Qualification NOT Confederations Cup Qualification, why is yet another CharltonLife thread going off topic…?
Well keep reading (Unless you’ve either given up or fallen asleep) and you’ll find out.
Putting jokes aside for a minute. The whole point of me covering the world of World Cup Qualification began thanks to the brilliant documentary that was: Next Goal Wins, which covered American Samoa’s attempts to regain their pride after losing so heavily to Australia many years ago.
My first article covered their Qualification process yet because there are so few nations; they’ve had to spread out the process meaning there have been no Qualification matches since I last covered them… Until now!!
Due to all the countries not being the closest to each other, the 2nd Round of World Cup Qualifying combines (briefly) with their Nations Cup… the eight countries left are split into two groups of four teams (playing each other just the once)… Basically the top two countries in each group advance in the Nations Cup whilst the top three countries in each group will advance to the third round of World Cup Qualification.
Group A
Tahiti (Remember them from the previous Confederations Cup?) lead the way and have already qualified to the next stage in both competitions… Papua New Guinea occupy second spot yet only by a point and have played a game more than New Caledonia… Samoa (also having played a game less) sit bottom yet are only two points behind Papua New Guinea so any team can still reach the next stage of both competitions.
(Current Standings)
Tahiti (4) … Papua New Guinea (2) … New Caledonia (1) … Samoa (0)
Group B
The sole powerhouse from Oceania is naturally New Zealand and they (like Tahiti) have qualified for the next stage in both competitions… Vanuatu sit bottom and look to have been eliminated, they’ll need to comfortably win their last game (due to goal difference) in order to progress.
(Current Standings)
New Zealand (6) … Solomon Islands (3) … Fiji (3) … Vanuatu (0)
The final round of fixtures will be played this Weekend with the two bottom sides advancing no further in World Cup Qualification, the top six sides will go into the 3rd Round (another two group stage) which will commence in March 2017.
Unfortunately for the Copa this year, nobody seems to give a shit. It's in the State, it was originally due to be in Brazil for the 100th anniversary but that changed when Brazil got the Olympics. There were difficulties organizing it. It's now ridiculously spread out (because USA), and I looked into tickets and they're obscenely expensive, and a lot have gone to the tout companies such as Stub Hub.
Brazil are sending a weakened team so they can focus on the Olympics. Argentina have picked a strong side but I'm just not convinced they'll be bothered. Colombia have picked a side short of all their quality forward up front, and their midfield and defense have long been not very good. Chile and Uruguay have picked the sides that basically won the last two (either/both worth a cheeky punt in my humble opinion). The States are going through a transition period and everyone has spent the last three years learning what Bayern Munich learned in three months, Jurgen Klinsmann is a rubbish coach.
It's also worth noting that this is normally a winter tournament, being played south of the equator. It'll now be played in 90-100F temps in the states.
Normally this is a tournament I try to watch as much of as I can. My little brother lives in Chile so watching last year's affair was great fun. But given there's only been a year between them, and given how much the States is, and how hot it will be, I'm not particularly excited this year.
This one just seems a pointless event because like you say its 100-years since the first
Asia
As mentioned in my previous (insightful) articles we’re now at the business end of qualifying… Just twelve countries remain and in two groups of six the top two will qualify for Russia… One round of fixtures have been played with Iran | South Korea | Uzbekistan | Australia | United Arab Emirates | Saudi Arabia all recording victories, it’s a long way to go with a further 10-matches still to be played over the next year.
Africa
Again we’re through to the final stage of qualifying and the twenty teams remaining have been put into groups of four teams… the five winners from each will qualify for Russia, with the first games due to be played today, this is how the groups line up…
Group A: Tunisia | Libya | DR Congo | Guinea
Group B: Zambia | Cameroon | Algeria | Nigeria
Group C: Gabon | Mali | Ivory Coast | Morocco
Group D: Senegal | South Africa | Burkina Faso | Cape Verde
Group E: Ghana | Egypt | Congo | Uganda
North America
As per with the time zones, the latest round of matches have yet to be played in the CONCACAF Qualifying Zone… With the final two matches (of this round) being played over the next few days and with Mexico already through to the final stage, here is how everyone else stands:
Group A: Honduras and Canada are on equal points going into the final two matches, the two face either other in the final match yet Honduras still have to face Mexico so Canada must be favourites to advance.
Group B: Costa Rica have all but qualified for the final round whilst Panama are in pole position to join them… Jamaica three points back must beat Panama tonight in the hope they can still qualify.
Group C: Again Trinidad & Tobago have all but qualified meaning the last place is between the United States and Guatemala, with one home game left, with their impressive home record the USA must be favourites to advance
South America
Matchday Seven has been completed and Argentina are now top of the table after winning 1-0 at home to Uruguay, Brazil still aren’t in the automatic qualifying spots yet after winning 3-0 against Ecuador are now just a point behind the three teams who sit second (Uruguay / Colombia / Ecuador all have 13-points)
Europe
Seeing that this is the region we’ll all be paying attention to I won’t be covering it too much… All I can confirm is that despite not having played a game I can confirm that Scotland are somehow still in with a shout of qualifying (those hopes will no doubt be ended later on Sunday when they play Malta)
Players like Janusaz and Shaqiri have been granted special dispensation to switch allegiance if they want to.
This has gone down very well with Serbia and the Russians are less than impressed as well.
Gibraltar have ... Belgium | Bosnia | Greece | Estonia | Cyprus
Kosovo have ... Croatia | Iceland | Ukraine | Turkey | Finland
It was decided this way because UEFA didnt think it would be a good idea to have Kosovo v Bosnia in the same Group so occasionally UEFA do actually use their brains, although the Croatia game might still be interesting
Should they beat Iran (Already Qualified) later today and South Korea lose to Uzbekistan then Syria will Qualify automatically for the World Cup... Great job from them with whats going on out there and they're having to play all "Home" matches out in Malaysia.
Of course provided Uzbekistan dont better the Syria result then regardless... Syria will finish third and so go into the Asian Qualifying Fourth Round where they'll face the third placed team from the other Group (either Saudi Arabia or Australia). If they win that match over two legs they'll then play an Inter-Continental Play-Off against the fourth placed team from North America which'll at present looks to be one of Honduras | Panama | United States
Zambia beat Algeria, to leave Algeria's hopes of qualifying in tatters...
I was wondering at what point Kashi would be again be considered for international duty?
Saudi Arabia currently 0-0 with Japan... Unless they score; Australia are going to the World Cup again and Saudi Arabia have to settle for the Play-Off against Syria which is bloody good news after the attitude of the Saudi Arabia players in a match against Australia a few months ago when they refused to respect a minutes silence!!
The All Whites drew 2-2 with the Solomon Islands in the early hours of this morning having beaten them 6-1 at home a week ago and now go on to face the 5th placed South American team (currently Argentina!) for a place in the WC Finals.
I meant to cover the whole of Qualifying but after September last year I forgot about it
Russia | Brazil | Iran | Japan | Mexico | Belgium | South Korea
Of course that'll mean Australia will be forced to settle for the Play-Off against Syria
Have to admit if Syria do qualify and get United States and England in the Groups it'll certainly be interesting!!