2014 FIFA WC QLF, AFC: Group A

Group A: Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Uzbekistan, South Korea

Easiest possible group with the exception of Uzbekistan instead of Iraq.

Seems to me that the procedure how to take the balls from the pots was also planned, like it was in Asian Cup 2010, in order to select those opponents which Qatar wanted.

i dont think so. qatar have basically no chance.

not to worry, Qatar won't make it.

Good chance that no arab team is going to make it to the WC this year

/racism

Qatar will prolly be naturalizing all of South America and Africa by summer time. Bunch of cheating bastards.

Schedule
3 June 2012
Uzbekistan v Iran
Lebanon v Qatar

8 June 2012
Qatar v South Korea
Lebanon v Uzbekistan

12 June 2012
South Korea v Lebanon
Iran v Qatar

11 September 2012
Uzbekistan v South Korea
Lebanon v Iran

16 October 2012
Iran v South Korea
Qatar v Uzbekistan

14 November 2012
Iran v Uzbekistan
Qatar v Lebanon

26 March 2013
South Korea v Qatar
Uzbekistan v Lebanon

4 June 2013
Qatar v Iran
Lebanon v South Korea

11 June 2013
South Korea v Uzbekistan
Iran v Lebanon

18 June 2013
South Korea v Iran
Uzbekistan v Qatar

I didn't watch the draw for this or the 2011 Asian Cup, but wow, that is REALLY far fetched. I saw a Japanese supporter saying he liked his group, maybe they fixed it so Japan could get all the opponents they wanted? lol.

best case scenario

2012
June 8th vs Qatar away win
June 12th vs Lebanon home win
September 11th vs Uzbek away draw
October 16th vs Iran away loss


2013
March 26th vs Qatar home win
June 4th vs Lebanon away win
June 11th vs Uzbek home win
June 18th vs Iran home draw

we end up with 17 points

worst case scenario is like this

2012
June 8th vs Qatar away draw
June 12th vs Lebanon home win
September 11th vs Uzbek away loss
October 16th vs Iran away loss


2013
March 26th vs Qatar home win
June 4th vs Lebanon away win
June 11th vs Uzbek home draw
June 18th vs Iran home draw

we end up with 12

best case scenario:

Team Played GD Points
Iran 7 +6 14
S.Korea 7 +6 14
Uzbekistan 7 +5 12
Qatar 7 +5 12

Day 8
SKorea - Iran
Uzbekistan - Qatar

Ready to troll this group.

Really tough group. Based on round 3 and how some teams played against each other there is no certain prediction. But I have a strong feeling and I really think Uzbekistan will make it to the world cup this time. I can See Uzbekistan's flag in 2014 and I'm defiantly going to cheer for them.

I hope for Lebanon too I'm extremely happy for them but I cant ignore the other monsters like Uzbekistan, Iran and South Korea. but who knows what will happen? who ever thought Lebanon could win over South Korea? can they do it again? can they upset Iran? we have to wait and see.

Group of Death definitely.

The outcome will depend on if Uzbekistan step it up or not. Last time, they had a very good 3rd round, but in the 4th couldn't pull it together. If they don't pull it together this time, I see Iran & South Korea waltzing to Brazil. But if they do turn up to the big stage............it'll be very very interesting to watch.

tired of playing against Iran.

same to :d

last official games between iran and south korea

asian cup
2000
South korea 2 vs Iran 1

asian cup 2004
Iran 4 vs South korea 3

asian cup 2007
South korea 0 vs Iran 0 (south korea win in pk)

asian cup 2011
South korea 2 vs Iran 1(south korea win in extra time)



fifa world cup qualf 2010

Iran 1 vs South korea 1 (in iran)
South korea 1 vs Iran 1 (in south korea)

Both groups are tough and somewhat boring but it's the only route to the big show.
We will show up and there will be major action.

Maybe some of us sick of meeting Iran for umteeth time but don't mind playing against them. I certainly feel that we got the upper advantage going for us.

Feeling is mutual.

wtf is this. i wanted to play australia. boring 1-1 draws again. but hey if it means it will get us to the world cup then so be it.

Very tough group imo.

Qatar are dangerous against any team and they could factor in heavily. If Uzbekistan get their act together and play in Round 4 like they normally play in the penultimate round then we're in for some entertainment! I think Lebanon will run out of steam, but I hope they prove me wrong.

No way is this a stroll for South Korea or Iran. Having said that on paper they should be qualifying.

It might be a 1-1 draw for them away, but South Korea will probably beat Iran at home.

Qatar are an inconsistent team, but they like to pull off upsets against the top teams once in a while. Too bad they can't show any consistency against lower teams. I hope this World Cup qualifying is something different, and not the same boring, predictable scenario with South Korea and Iran qualifying, and Uzbekistan getting the play-off slot.

based on what are you assuming this? last time Iran played south korea in korea, we won. the time before that, we were winning until a late equalizer from park. the last time south korea beat Iran at home was in a friendly in 2005 and their goals came in the 1st and 90th minute, both being deflections. in fact, south korea has never defeated Iran in south korea in a competitive match. i dont think Iran will ever be as weak as we were during 2010 qualifying so if that team was on par with south korea in both legs, it would have to take bad luck to lose to korea this time around.

I like how everyone in the media and internet forums is writing us off already!! I like it when Qatar goes into a competition or qualification as underdogs instead of favorites. Unlike Lebanon, Qatar are underdogs with the potential to qualify. It's a nice combination for world cup qualifiers.

I think we are lucky to be in this group. South Korea isn't the same South Korea of before. We are already familiar with Iran and Uzbekistan. And Lebanon is going to run out of gas at this stage. Lebanon's German coach is already making excuses for the shitty performances that are coming in his way. He's already blaming things on federation interference, yada yada. He knows he has no chance and he's showing signs of lack of confidence. Not the same big mouth he was when I read about his interviews with middle eastern sports channels.

Qatar have an easy schedule in their first few games. They need to acquire atleast 7 out of 9 points against Lebanon, Korea South and Iran. Against Lebanon is a must win. No excuses for not getting 3 points. We have enough quality to beat them even with a few players rested for the Korea game. Qatar is being financed heavily in sports so I think our players must win otherwise they have no shame being beaten by a team of amateurs.

The win should give us momentum for our next game in Doha. No matter who we play, a home game must be a win. South Korea is not the same South Korea and the players must know this. They must stop giving too much respect for east Asian teams. As for Iran, a draw is enough but I'd like to see more Qatari effort for winning.

7/9 or 6/9 or even 5/9 points is a good start and it will make our lives more comfortable in winter. By winter time, Qatar will have 2 home games back to back. Both should be winnable games. There is no excuse. Uzbekistan still has problems playing Arab countries away from home with exception to Asia Cup 2011. We must take advantage of that and beat them. In the last world cup qualifiers we beat them 3 zero. Now we have a better team, a more stable federation and healthier talent pool. No excuse for dropping points against them. Same thing with Lebanon. So that should be 6/6 points.

If Qatar wants to qualify, we must win 4 games at least, and draw 1 or 2, and loss 2 or 3. That's the minimum level for finishing in the top 2. A Win Draw Lose record of 4-2-2 or 4-1-3 or 4-4-0 or even 3-5-0. Top 3 does not count because nobody will beat South American teams.

We must win 4 games. 2 matches against Lebanon must be 6/6 points. Anything lower is unacceptable. The other 2 at home against 2 of these 3 teams: Uzbek, Korea, Iran. Then draw one away from home at least and maybe draw one at home (against one of the 3 big sides we weren't able to beat) and then we can afford losing 2 or 3 games.

13 or 14 points is the aim. 14 is better to be on the safe side.
A 3-5-0 record is better than 4-1-3.

last time we met in word cup qualifying we didnt have to win against you. the one win you had was a friendly then we beat you 1-0 at the asian cup. dont act so invincible. you will have a tough time beating anyone away from tehran let alone us.

your incentive was to make north korea qualify instead of Iran, and your 110% effort during the game made that clear. i wouldnt be surprised if some parents of the south korean team still have relatives in north korea. i never 'acted invincible;' i was refuting a statement that was based on nothing. your asian cup win came after regular time. just in case you didnt know, in wcq there is no extra time, and it is played in south korea, the place where, as i previously mentioned, Iran have a total of 0 losses in wcq and/or competitive matches, which is what we are talking about here. i agree that we will have a tough time beating anyone, specially korea, which is why i predicted 2 draws, so i have no idea where you got your misconception (you implying that i said we will beat south korea in Iran) from. south korea has not defeated Iran within 90 minutes in a competitive match in the past 10 years, yet we have played 7 times in that period. so i dont know why anybody would think south korea would beat Iran this time around.