Socceroos 2018 WCQ THREAD-v HONDURAS FOR SPOT IN RUSSIA (Dates TBC)

[Redalert]

6-0 to the Olyroos last night. Solid start, even if it was against Hong Kong.

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

MacLaren with a hat trick, Pain with a brace and Amini chips in.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

4-0 over Chinese Taipei yesterday puts us a top of the group with only needing a draw against 2nd placed Myanmar needed to secure a spot in the U23 Asian Championship - we can still qualify if we come second (as that is a play off spot to enter the tournament).

Josh Brillante, Adam Taggart, Jaushua Sotirio with a long range screamer and Brad Smith with the goals.

Good to see a pair of Jets old boys getting on the scoresheet - how we could use them now!

 

[ioppolo]

So we got grouped with ... Myanmar, Hong Kong & Taiwan...I'd be disappointed if we didn't qualify.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Yep, would have been embarrassing for the Olyroos to not make it through the first stage given the group - the real challenge will be the U23 Asian Championship where the final 3 teams (winner, runner up and third place playoff winner) will qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

Australia got to the final round of qualifying last time round (2012) and only needed to top a group with the UAE, Iraq and Uzbekistan but crashed horribly, winning no games and finishing last in the group.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

And the Olyroos have done it - qualified for the U23 Asian Championship with a 5-1 win over Myanmar.

My boy Hoole got a hatrick and Perth Glory's Jamie Maclaren got a brace.

Think it's fair to say that the Olyroos were expected to top the group so winning qualification to the U23 Championship isn't a huge deal to get excited about just yet. We shall see how they go in the tournament proper and whether they can qualify for the Olympics.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2015/03/31/olyroos-breeze-afc-u-23-championship

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

You can stumble on the smallest step so we can celebrate successful qualification.

 

[ioppolo]

Pot 1: Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, China PR, Iraq
Pot 2: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Kuwait, Syria
Pot 3: Afghanistan, Thailand, Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, Tajikistan, Lebanon, India
Pot 4: Timor-Leste, Kyrgyzstan, Korea DPR, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Bhutan, Singapore, Indonesia
Pot 5: Malaysia, Guam, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Yemen, Laos, Chinese Taipei, Cambodia

So, in theory, we can get grouped with Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bhutan & Bangladesh. If Ange is doing anything right, our GD will be +30

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Hope the Philippines get a nice draw!

Outside of Pot 1 and a handful of Pot 2, there isn't a huge amount to cause concern there. Might be a great chance for Ange to try and find a few strikers capable of doing the job regularly up front.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Maybe Scott McDonald can get a recall to the national side, surely even he would have a chance of opening his international account against some of those minnows.

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

I know you jest but Scott is long gone. Couldn't even get a game under Holger. It's a shame as he was probably a better player than Archie but who almost got the record for all time highest scorer while the other got a doughnut.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

I know you jest but Scott is long gone. Couldn't even get a game under Holger. It's a shame as he was probably a better player than Archie but who almost got the record for all time highest scorer while the other got a doughnut.

Yep, purely in jest on Scott. Though I've always had a soft spot for him - since moving back to Motherwell, I'm hoping he can regain his former form from when he first burst onto the scene. Think he's already got 2 goals from 4 games so far. He's 31 though so it's probably unlikely he'll get another chance in the national team which is a shame.

 

[Munga]

Pot 1: Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, China PR, Iraq
Pot 2: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Kuwait, Syria
Pot 3: Afghanistan, Thailand, Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, Tajikistan, Lebanon, India
Pot 4: Timor-Leste, Kyrgyzstan, Korea DPR, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Bhutan, Singapore, Indonesia
Pot 5: Malaysia, Guam, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Yemen, Laos, Chinese Taipei, Cambodia

So, in theory, we can get grouped with Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bhutan & Bangladesh. If Ange is doing anything right, our GD will be +30

The draw is 7pm EST tomorrow night

 

[Fryer Tuck]

Pot 1: Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, China PR, Iraq
Pot 2: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Kuwait, Syria
Pot 3: Afghanistan, Thailand, Philippines, Palestine, Maldives, Tajikistan, Lebanon, India
Pot 4: Timor-Leste, Kyrgyzstan, Korea DPR, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Bhutan, Singapore, Indonesia
Pot 5: Malaysia, Guam, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Yemen, Laos, Chinese Taipei, Cambodia

So, in theory, we can get grouped with Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bhutan & Bangladesh. If Ange is doing anything right, our GD will be +30

You know, it says a lot about the standards of the lower teams and the rankings if the so called 'Worst Team in the World' is now good enough to be in Pot 4. To think a draw moved San Marino from 207 to 184. A draw. Bhutan moved to 163 after their two wins, (Sri Lanka dropped to 186 from 174) above Malaysia, and really close to North Korea (If there's any team whose ranking made little sense, it's North Korea. They always sweep the Challenge Cup and should be in Pot 2 over the likes of Vietnam. They are not a minnow nation, despite what the AFC thinks.)

I know FIFA rankings are to be taken with a pinch of salt, but gee whiz they're whacked up when Japan is ranked 50 right now, and we were ranked 100th prior to the Asian Cup, 10th in Asia (I know we didn't take part in qualifiers, and that hurt our ranking, but even then, no Asian nation was top 50 prior to the Asian Cup).

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

We were ranked low because of terrible results weren't we?

 

[Fryer Tuck]

We were ranked low because of terrible results weren't we?

I'll admit, 2 wins with 2 draws from 11 matches is poor, and on reflection, it doesn't seem too drastic, but we've also got the benefit of weighted rankings... wait, it's last 36 months, not 48. Alright, that would explain a part of it, but for all the Asian nations to drop like that?

The problem is the fact that AFCON is on every two years (in fact, we've just had three in the last four), the CONCACAF Gold Cup is also on every two years. Remembering that Asia, North America and Africa are rated equally, that puts their ranking out of line since qualifiers and continental competitions are scaled higher (2.5 v 1 for a friendly, and 3 for a continental competition). It's not 4 years like the AFC, UEFA, or CONEBOL (That said, South America are going to have 2 Copas back to back).

Algeria and Ivory Coast can have similar years to what Japan has, yet both are ranked around 20th, as opposed to Japan's 50th.

Playing a lot of matches helps. Costa Rica's really benefited from playing their Central American nations for their qualifiers for both the World Cup and the Gold Cup, held every two years. In 2011 and 2013, the majority of Costa Rica's 20+ games were for 2.5 and 3 times the ranking points... heck, in 2014, they also had their Gold Cup qualifiers, along with their World Cup performances. No wonder they're ranked 13th.

No wonder why Asian nations rank poorly, not enough big games.

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

I didn't realise we were in the 60s for FIFA rankings. We're in the 30s for ELO which is extra nice.

 

[The Fonz]

Moments like these are the reason we joined Asia. A 10 game Round 2 of qualifying followed by another 10 games for Round 3

 

[The Fonz]

they do Pot 1 last so will only know what's what when they finish Pot 2...

 

[The Fonz]

Jordan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh

 

[SloaneysDanger]

Very good group. Only real threat is Jordan.

 

[rippersnipper]

Should beat Jordan too, happy with that group

 

[The Fonz]

Kyrgyzstan are ranked ahead of North Korea but yet seem significantly easier than them. How is North Korea in Pot 4?

 

[hey shorty]

Happy with the group, the new mindset of our squad should see us have little trouble....... SHOULD.

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Don't think we could've asked for a much better group.