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

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Thought I'd start a thread for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup which kicked off for a few nations yesterday and there didn't seem to be an existing thread.

The AFC has again been allocated 4.5 qualifying places for Russia 2018 (4 automatic and 1 play off spot). At present, the inter-confederation playoffs have not been determined (so it's not known who the playoff winner for the AFC will need to face; though it will be a playoff winner from one of CONCACAF, CONMEBOL or the OFC - North/Central America & the Caribbean, South America or Oceania).

FYI - all 46 member nations in the AFC have entered qualification for Russia 2018. the 6 winners of the Round 1 ties below will progress to the second round of qualification where 8 groups of 5 will be drawn.

Should also be noted that the qualifiers will also help determine which teams are competing at the 2019 Asian Cup (which will feature an expanded 24 team competition).

Competing in first round (Ranked 35th to 46th in January 2015)
  1. India (171)
  2. Sri Lanka (172)
  3. Yemen (176)
  4. Cambodia (179)
  5. Chinese Taipei (182)
  6. Timor-Leste (185)
  7. Nepal (186)
  8. Macau (186)
  9. Pakistan (188)
  10. Mongolia (194)
  11. Brunei (198)
  12. Bhutan (209)

Teams with Bye to second round (Ranked 1st to 34th in January 2015)
  1. Iran (51)
  2. Japan (54)
  3. South Korea (69)
  4. Uzbekistan (71)
  5. United Arab Emirates (80)
  6. Qatar (92)
  7. Oman (93)
  8. Jordan (93)
  9. China PR (96)
  10. Australia (100)
  11. Saudi Arabia (102)
  12. Bahrain (110)
  13. Iraq (114)
  14. Palestine (115)
  15. Lebanon (122)
  16. Kuwait (125)
  17. Philippines (129)
  18. Maldives (131)
  19. Vietnam (133)
  20. Tajikistan (136)
  21. Myanmar (141)
  22. Afghanistan (142)
  23. Thailand (144)
  24. Turkmenistan (147)
  25. North Korea (150)
  26. Syria (151)
  27. Kyrgyzstan (152)
  28. Malaysia (154)
  29. Hong Kong (156)
  30. Singapore (157)
  31. Indonesia (159)
  32. Laos (160)
  33. Guam (161)
  34. Bangladesh (165)
 
Asian Zone, Round 1 results - 1st leg.
India 2-0 Nepal
Yemen 3-1 Pakistan
Timor-Leste 4-1 Mongolia
Cambodia 3-0 Macau
Chinese Taipei 0-1 Brunei Darussalam
Sri Lanka 0-1 Bhutan

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y...lder-as-india-timor-leste-cruise-2557850.html

Bit surprised to see India in this group - with the new Indian Super League, you'd expect interest in the game to grow and strengthen in the coming decade or so.

Timor-Leste also won their first ever qualifying match. Pretty big moment for them.
 

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Bhutan beat Sri Lanka. That's got to hurt, being beaten by the worst team in the world.

Just to add further salt to the wounds, they lost at home and the goal came in the 84th minute. Also, apparently this is Bhutan's first WCQ campaign and debut match.
 

ioppolo

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Can you imagine the Socceroos traveling to Bangladesh? Or Guam? Or East Timor?

Soccer is a funny sport sometimes. Some of those central Asian countries won't be easy to travel to though given how cold their winters get (Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan) and how humid the Maldives are.
 
Bhutan beat Sri Lanka. That's got to hurt, being beaten by the worst team in the world.
Huge credit to them though. As NUFC already stated, this is their first attempt at qualifying for a world cup and got a win first up away from home. Imagine if they got through and had to play us?
 
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hey shorty

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What an awesome result for them. I remember watching a doco on them an another carribean country playing off for the title of 'worlds worst footballing nation'
 
What an awesome result for them. I remember watching a doco on them an another carribean country playing off for the title of 'worlds worst footballing nation'
The Other Final I believe it's called where they played Montserrat. Bhutan won IIRC.
 

hey shorty

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The Other Final I believe it's called where they played Montserrat. Bhutan won IIRC.
That they did. Montserrat are more famous for that 'Hot Hot Hot' song which was played on overdrive during the program.
 

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And Bhutan advance to the second round! They backed up their first win with a win in their first home match, 2-1. As for the others:

Mongolia 0-1 Timor-Leste (Timor-Leste)
Nepal 0-0 India (India advance)
Brunei 0-2 Chinese Taipei (Chinese Taipei advance)
Macau 1-1 Cambodia (Cambodia advance)

Pakistan-Yemen postponed due to safety concerns and will be played later at a neutral venue.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2015/03/17/rock-bottom-bhutan-secures-world-cup-passage
 
Great to see Bhutan progress and I'm also pretty happy for Timor-Leste as well.

FIFA and the AFC probably both pleased to see India going through as well - India, along with China are 2 huge markets that offer plenty of potential growth for the game.
 
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Can you imagine the Socceroos traveling to Bangladesh? Or Guam? Or East Timor?

Soccer is a funny sport sometimes. Some of those central Asian countries won't be easy to travel to though given how cold their winters get (Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan) and how humid the Maldives are.

The trip, climate and accomodation won't be that nice, but we should be beating those teams 4-0 even if we sent out our B side and played them on the moon. There are shitty asian teams that fill out the last few spots in the Asian cup, but then there is that level below that which shouldn't even be a contest.
 
Not related directly to the 2018 World Cup but the Olyroos kick off their hopeful qualification for the 2016 Olympics tonight.

"But to have any shot of making it to Rio, the Olyroos must first navigate their way through an intense, four-team qualification group over the next five days in Kaohsiung City in Taiwan - playing three games 48 hours apart - to earn a spot in the Asian under-23 championships in Qatar next January. The top three teams in that tournament will qualify for 2016.

The Olyroos start with Hong Kong on Friday, hosts Chinese Taipei two days later and then Myanmar on March 31. Vidmar admitted the pressure was on to ensure the side fared much better this time around."

http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/ghos...lio-vidmar-20150326-1m8cav.html#ixzz3VZ1g8E94

Had a quick look at the squad and it's pretty decent on paper, quite strong and features quite a few of what is hopefully the next generation to push for Socceroos selection - no Antonis or Yeboah though you'd expect 'should' be able to account for Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar to qualify for the U23 Asian Championship in January next year - for the record, we bombed out pretty badly last time out finishing last and without scoring a goal IIRC.

Squad:
  • Mustafa AMINI Borussia Dortmund, Germany
  • Terry ANTONIS Sydney FC, Australia - replaced by George Blackwood (Sydney FC).
  • Josh BRILLANTE Empoli, Italy
  • Corey BROWN Brisbane Roar, Australia
  • Cameron BURGESS Ross County, Scotland
  • Daniel DE SILVA Perth Glory, Australia
  • James DONACHIE Brisbane Roar, Australia
  • Jack DUNCAN (gk) Perth Glory, Australia
  • Ryan EDWARDS Reading FC, England
  • Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO Swansea FC, England
  • Scott GALLOWAY Melbourne Victory, Australia
  • Jason GERIA Melbourne Victory, Australia
  • John HALL (gk) Adelaide United, Australia
  • Andrew HOOLE Newcastle Jets, Australia
  • Jackson IRVINE Ross County, Scotland
  • Aaron LENNOX (gk) Queens Park Rangers, England
  • Jamie MACLAREN Perth Glory, Australia
  • Connor PAIN Melbourne Victory, Australia
  • Brad SMITH Liverpool, England
  • Adam TAGGART Fulham FC, England
  • Steven UGARKOVIC NK Osijek, Croatia
  • Ryan WILLIAMS Fulham FC, England
  • Kwame YEBOAH Borussia Monchengladbach, Germany - replaced by Jaushua Sotorio (Western Sydney Wanderers).
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-16/road-to-rio-begins-as-olyroos-squad-named/6322700

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2015/03/23/antonis-yeboah-out-olyroos-squad
 
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