I think this was more a case of iran playing shitty than Jordan playing good. And Iran also missed Teymourian, Nekounam and Jabari and this was Iran's first game in the past 100 days. Jordanians play with heart but that can't compensate for skill and depth in the next round.
I don't think Jordan will be anything but underdogs in round 4, but I do see them as causing some upsets and testing the more established teams. They are enjoying a period of renaissance under their manager and their recent results reflect that. The fact that Iran may have been sub par today (I don't follow them closely enough to know) is nihil ad rem.
Most arab teams, apart from Saudi Arabia, don't have any depth. They play with heart and when they suddenly get a good crop of players they perform for a period and then fall off the face of the earth. Jordan has been causing trouble for Iran for a decade now but I still put them in the same category as Bahrain, Kuwait etc... This is perhpas because of the fact that they don't have proper leagues. But then again, Qatar and UAE never seem to do much better even though they spend a crap ton of money.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDEqe-M75yo&feature=g-u-u&context=G2049b21FUAAAAAAAAAA"]Jordan - Iran | ALL HIGHLIGHTS - Friendly 2/23/12 ????? - ???? - YouTube[/ame]
I disagree with the part in bold. The UAE appears to have a good future in sports. They've invested a lot of money and resources into the youth teams and have reaped their rewards, in recent years. Football in the UAE is destined for another golden era, and I expect them to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and be championship contenders for the 2015 Asian Cup. Qatar is a small country, but Qatar's investments into sports and education are going to breed generations of academic intellects and successful athletes, in the decades to come. They're doing a fine job but they've got a decade to go, before we get to see the real results. Kuwait and Bahrain are a total disaster, though. As for teams with depth, I think Jordan's biggest problem is their aging squad. It might only ever get them so far in the qualifications, before certain important players run out of steam. But there are many Arab countries that have depth, in addition to players at their prime age. Take Iraq, for instance. Most of the players should be peaking by now (i.e. at their prime), and they've got enough depth to see them through to the 2014 World Cup finals. I think they're contenders, not pretenders, especially after turning around their bad start in the qualification campaign. Qatar also has depth, all thanks to its league and naturalization policies. But its biggest problem is stability, which they lack right now, in the managerial level. But I don't expect anything from them. If any team lacks depth right now, it's Saudi Arabia, in my opinion. Sure, they can find replacements quite easily, due to the pool of players they have at their disposal, thanks to their league. But it's a matter of finding good replacements, instead of just any replacement, which Saudi Arabia have been lacking lately. In my opinion, it's not because there aren't any talented players in Saudi Arabia. Instead, I think it's due to the fact they're not looking in the right direction. I think Saudi Arabia has lots of talented players in the non-big-five teams, but they're not given the opportunity (that they deserve) in order to prove themselves. Until they do, I can safely say the Saudi Arabian national football team lacks the depth that it used to have.
New Zealand 0-6 Saudi Arabia New Zealand fielded a Olympic NT with 4 overage players . 2 red cards for NZ. http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/index.php?id=3
What you said about the UAE is interesting. I was watching the UAE-AUS olympic qualifying match last night and I was surprised how good they were! I actually thought about the post I made here. At the same time Iran hasn't made the olympics in like 3 decades and our youth teams always blow, but our senior team always does relatively okay so I don't know how much I should look into UAE's success here. One thing's for sure though, they won't be kicked around in the future like they're now. I think Iraq will one day become great as well, but first they have to fix their country.
in Antalya: 25.2 Turkmenistan - Aktobe (Kazakhstan) 27.2 Turkmenistan - Concordia Chiajna (Romania) 29.2 Turkmenistan - Tom Tomsk (Russia)
Tomorrow`s friendlies : 29.2 Philippines - Malaysia 29.2 Azerbaijan - Palestine in Dubai 29.2 Hong Kong - Chinese Taipei 29.2 Bangkok Glass - Maldives 29.2 Turkmenistan - Tom Tomsk (Russia) in turkey
You obviously didn't pay attention to the 2008 U19 Asian championship or 2008 U16 youth championship which would have given you an idea of what Kutsuit was getting at. The next few years should see these players gel into the next UAE senior team. Of course the next generation after that seem terrible with todays result!
Their olympic team is doing rather well and is likely to qualify. But Im skeptical as to how well they are going to incorporate those players into a deadly senior team that is going to seriously compete with the traditional footballing powers in Asia, for the Asia cup trophy and qualification to World Cup. I dont necessarily believe that u16 achievements (or u19 etc) are that indicative. But time will tell us I suppose. Are these players going to get sufficient playing time in the league? Thats the important question. Btw dont take my post to heart. It was my way of being sarcastic and report how we whopped their behinds lol