2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying III [R]

You got to love how Bahrain is all of sudden an "average team" in Asia , because they got hammed by Iran. The irony of it all, one of the fans who is downplaying Bahrain's "pedigree" and status, had his team eliminated by Bahrain in the last WCQs, while the other fan's team has not even made it the final round of WCQs since 2002 WCQs, while Bahrain has been a regular contender on the Asian scene, and was twice on verge or making it to the World Cup.

 

lol

 

I'm sorry, I'm lost here! when did I say anything of Iran not being the better side in head to head records? or you just want to pop that up? well now you sound like a new comer.

when we talk about something lets be specific, and I was so specific. I said I never heard any one talks about Iran in any level THIS YEAR. ok lets be more specific the last time I heard anything about Iran was in the Asian Cup 2011, but it was from news, the conversations I had with friends or with strangers never included Iran.

Good luck

 

They were average, still average, and will always be average. They just were lucky. Newsflash for you Qatar, Oman and UAE are average teams too. Oh wait you already know that but because you beat Bahrain 6-0 now Bahrain is a powerhouse.

About my team, I dont care what and how do you see us. if you consider our team is an average team then let be it. if you think our team is a low level team I REALLY DONT CARE

In my life time, My team won the Asian Cup, reached the Olympic Games 4th place, and when I was one year old my team qualified to the World Cup (didn't see it by my own eyes but it happened man, and we have a good chance to make it again) we also won tiny tournaments like the AFC Youth Cup, West Asia Championship, West Asia Games, among others. To me? THIS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.

 

still, Kuwait have the upper shoulder in achievements and trophies. When Bahrain qualify to the World Cup then your words will have some meaning.

 

trophies?
Trophies are meaningful when the tournament is meaningful. As I said, and as you confirmed with your "still," the Persian Gulf Cup and the West Asian tournament are two unsanctioned and meaningless tournaments that even the participating nations don't care enough about to send their A teams.

Bahrain has achieved more than Kuwait in the past decade by continuously beaing a pain in the ass for teams like Iran, Saudi etc... They were in the playoffs twice and narrowly missed the WC. Kuwait has done nothing on this scale in the past decade.

 

actually the Gulf Cup and WAFF are the only real thing to compare the two nations achievements. Other than that they both fail to qualify to the WC and it doesn't matter what happened during the qualifications. either way Bahrain still average team.

 

You're kidding right? That's like saying Guam and Bahrain are the same and it doesn't matter what happened during the qualifications, both were eliminated.

My advise to you. Get rid of your complexes. The "average team" you're trying to put down to make Iran's win look less impressive, has actually accomplished more in the last three World Cup Qualifications than your team and World Cup is the most importnat tournament in the word. Bahrain have been consistently one of the better teams in Asia, the same cannot be said about your team who are notoriously inconstant, and have time after time even failed to make it to the last round of World Cup qualifiers to be among the top ten teams in Asia.

 

maybe for you it matters, but to an European person they are the same. the people I talk with about football they dont give a damn about Bahrain, Guam, and other average and lower level teams.

personally what happens in the qualifications is something to forget.

I really don't have a time to argue about the past 3 world cups and I'm not trying to underrate your win against 10 men Bahrain average team. Be happy and celebrate as much as you like no one is forcing you not to. But saying Bahrain is a powerhouse is ridicules.

 

that literally makes zero sense
I just gave you a FIFA sanctioned tourney and you come back w/ your Persian Gulf and WA bs again. It doesn't matter what happens in the qualifiers? So it doesn't matter that Bahrain has consistently been a performer while Kuwait was watching the games on TV?

 

another top notch logical arguement
to a Euro they are the same which means they are the same lmao

 

To a random "European person", Iran and Iraq might the same too. Why the hell do you care so much about European's' opinion on Asian teams? Most Europeans don't give a rat's ass about Asian football. To most Asian fans, and those who follow Asian footall closely, Bahrain is Asia's 5th best team. You can deny that all you want, it does not change the fact that Bahrain is not an "average team" by Asian standards, they're no Japan , South Korea or Australia, but they're one of the more formidable Asian sides.

 

Listen
in the FIFA sanctioned tourney they both FAILED, FAILED. not only FAILED. Bahrain FAILED TWICE.... just like Kuwait.
nothing to compare between them in this area.

so I went down to a lower level tourney just to see who has the upper shoulder.
and by doing that it seems Kuwait has the uppershoulder in this matter.
did you get it?

are they both powerhouses? I dont think so.

besides Kuwait play better football than Bahrain. take it as a personal note (point of view) I wont argue with you about this point.

 

Well they know Iraq won the Asian Cup 2007 and reached the 4th place in the Olympic games. Who can forget? It was all over the news, for Sports and for political reasons.

even if I look at it in the Asian standard. Jordan currently is the best Arabian team. Saudi Arabia is sure better than Bahrain and I bet Qatar can beat Bahrain. so where is Bahrain now?

 

Olympics is a junior level tournament, and Greece also won the 2004 Euro, but they're not a top European team. So what's your point? We're talking about World Cup and World Cup Qualifications where Iraq has been a level below Bahrain, consistently, for the last 10 years. That's just a fact, weather you like it or not.

As for Saudi Arabia and Qatar being better than Bahrain, your logic fails again. Bahrain made it to the World Cup play-offs by eliminating Saudi Arabia and Qatar!

 

also one thing I want to clarify
Is Iran a strong team? YES
Do you deserve to win against Bahrain? YES
Will Iran walk easily to Brazil? That is the Point I'm not sure about and said lets wait and see Iran against Stronger opponents.

One last question, Is Bahrain a powerhouse? NO

a summery of my argument

 

Bahrain is not an Asian powerhouse, neither is Iraq. But Bahrain is not an "average team" in Asia either, nor is Iraq. They are both among the better teams of the second tier in Asia alongside Uzbekistan, North Korea, Jordan and nowadays Saudi Arabia who are no longer an Asian powerhouse. Regardless, beating one of these teams by 6 goals, is not an "average result".

 

I never said Iraq is a top team. in matter of fact I said if you think Iraq is a low level team I really dont care. My point is when I speak with some one about football I dont want to get embarrassed when I say Bahrain is the 5th best team in Asia while Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait can beat them.

Well about Greece. Greece qualified to the world cups and Euros in the last couple of editions. they even first or second tier in their qualifications group. they are not the strongest but they are still strong.

your last line doesn't make any sense at all. Bahrain has zero achievements and zero trophies while Iraq in this decade won dozen of trophies.

my logic fails?
I started my conversation about this year and I'm talking about now and I already mentioned that now Jordan is the best Arabian team. so all my logic is about the present.... your logic again?

 

Anyone can beat anyone in Asia. That's besides the point though. Bahrain has indeed been the 5th best Asian team for the last ten years, as far as the overall WCQ record is concerned. That's just a fact, nothing to be embarrassed about. Even the AFC and FIFA originally seeded them as the 5th best team in Asia.

 

10 years ha? well thats your point of view.
Nothing special about them.

10 Years, lets say 2011 years for the sake of the millennium.
I only will mention the teams that qualified to the World Cups and the top 3 teams of each of the Asian Cups in this decade.

2000: Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
2002: Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, China
2004: Japan, China, Iran
2006: Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran
2007: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
2010: Japan, South Korea, Australia, North Korea
2011: Japan, Australia, South Korea


these are 8 teams... where is Bahrain?

 

If I'm not mistaken, the Gulf Cup of Nations and West Asian Football Federation Championship are both sanctioned by the AFC. The former tournament just recently gained FIFA recognition, I think, while the latter tournament was always part of FIFA's program.

Anyway, I agree that Kuwait's 'cup double' in late 2010 does not reflect who the dominant force of the region was, over the past 8-10 years. Everyone acknowledges that Bahrain had the upper-hand over Kuwait, throughout most of the previous decade, in both Asian and regional football. Nevertheless, things started to change ever since 2009. Bahrain are no longer the same 'thorn in the enemy's side' that they used to be many years ago. Not only did they lose many of their best era's footballers -- due to retirement and other (i.e. political) reasons -- but the country itself also went through a huge period of instability recently.

Nevertheless, take nothing away from the Iranians. They played good football and deserved the victory. In fact, they probably should have scored 2 or 3 more goals, before the final whistle. Having said that, I think Bahrain lost the match against Iran long before the players entered the field. Nobody was in the right state of mind, in my opinion.

Regarding football in West Asia, I really don't think any country is shining at this moment. Should Iran continue the current trend of playing good football, they might turn into serious contenders for World Cup qualification, a few months down the road. Until then, they must forget about their 6-0 victory over a disinterested/disoriented Bahrain and concentrate on their upcoming matches.

 

Anyway, as much as I'm trying to avoid discussing Kuwait, it would serve me no interest to continue posting around here, if I didn't want to mention them. I must mention the team's poor performance in Beirut, unfortunately...

I didn't like the way Kuwait played against Lebanon, last Tuesday. I didn't like it at all. We didn't deserve getting a single point from that game. The Lebanese coach, fans and players must all feel gutted by the own goal their national side conceded so late in the second half. I think Lebanon's own goal swung everything in our favor again. I cant see Lebanon overtaking us in the points table anymore, but they could have been in a much stronger position, had that embarrassing defensive error not occurred.

I'm going to be very honest here. Being a citizen of Kuwait does not mean I'm going to sugarcoat my country's national team at all. In all honesty, I think only South Korea deserve qualifying to the next round. If there was a way for the AFC to award only one fourth round spot for Group B, then I'm all for it. I fear Kuwait are going to end up embarrassing themselves in the next round, unless they seriously confront their defensive problems.

By the way, I cant see why anyone should feel sorry for Tajikistan. I think even the people of Tajikistan aren't feeling sorry for their national team, LOL. Almost everyone, including the players, probably knew they never really stood a chance of making it to the final round of World Cup qualifications. At least they'll enjoy traveling around Asia, playing more football matches (against tougher opponents) than they normally did, etc. What matters to them most is, in my opnion, the participation, instead of actually getting a positive result from the matches. Make no mistake, however, that Tajikistan will gain a lot of experience from these appearances. We might find another rising power in Central Asia, not too long from now.

 

We're talking about World Cup Qualification, and Asia's 4.5 spots.

• 2002 WCQ: China, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Iran (4.5 spots)
• 2006 WCQ: Iran, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain (4.5 spots)
• 2010 WCQ: Australia, Japan, Korea, N.Korea, and Bahrain (4.5 spots)

Bahrain has twice won Asia's 0.5 spot, they're a member of an elite club when it comes to their recent WCQ record in Asia.

 

Exactly my point and I believe I mentioned it in every single post I made... Qualifications does not matter.

 

Its hard on me because I like your football team but I also have many many Lebanese friends. All I can say is Good luck for both teams and may the best team wins.

Your team will comeback don't worry