After the disappointing World Cup in Brazil for the Asian teams, I think they need to do well in Russia next year. The problem is other than Iran all the teams look weak right now, but I hope they can spring a surprise and do well.
LOL I bet Korea could get 0 points at the World Cup and you'd still be celebrating just because the USA didn't make it.
Yes because I celebrate when my team lose -_- but it'll make myself feel a little better cus USA didn't make it LOL
I guess it doesn't matter how well they do, they still made it further than the USA. You got me for now.
Based on the Pots...at least 1 maybe 2 Asian teams will be screwed with tough groups. Iran gets it lucky they have the chance to play a Honduras/Panama that the rest dont. Would love for an Asian team to get Costa Rica so we can compare AFC and CONCACAF
Usually we have a slow team but this time we have pace/technique against an aging side like Panama. Panama struggled to put away chances even when they had plenty. We struggle to create attacking flow but definitely wouldnt give many chances to Panama.
Iranian team is in decline at the moment. Our defense is not as solid as our WCQs. We even conceded 2 goals against Syria in our own turf. Our main goal keeper has been crappy since his hand injuries. Beiranvand has been awful in Asian Champions League and PGPL matches. I just saw a good performance by him in today match vs Esteghlal. Otherwise, I won't count him as our number 1 goal keeper. We don't have any person to replace him. Our midfield doesn't look good either. Our DM Saeed will be missing the first match due to his red card suspension. Omid Ebrahimi another DM and ball distributor shows signs of old age and has got slow even in his club matches. We have only Shojai who is old and slow but good for Greek league. It seems we are going to invite him back which is one step backward in my opinion. I don't know if Ali Karimi jr can come back to fill the DM position. If he can make it, at least we have a little assurance in that department. Our major problem will be a fast pace CM who can distribute the ball with more accuracy. We seems to have good players in CB with PAG, Cheshmi, and Husseini. Our RB is good with Ramin and Ghafouri atm. Our LB Milmo is injured. Ansari or Aghai should cover his place. All of our forwards seems crappy with Sardar not scoring a single goal for Rubin Kazan in this season and Gucci scoring only 2-3 for Herenveen in league matches. Ansarifard scored a couple of goal but is rarely getting any playing time in Olympiacos. Our only offensive starlet at the moment is Saman killing it in Europa league. Kaveh shined for a little bit in Belgium but not impressive for NT yet. JB is also as inconsistent as you can get in RW. Amiri has lost his muscular form and instead of passing the defenders with ease he is getting caught in defensive net all the times but he still works his socks off for the team and has some good passes. He will be phased out most likely after WC. I want to see Torabi and Hajisafi in LW or RW more often and someone like Alipour as SS. Taremi is banned by Fifa so I don't comment on him until he gets his shit together. Pretty much our team is still experimenting on more solid defensive formations and creating more opportunities up in front of the goal by fast counter attacks and better play makers. We are rusty in our finishing now. We need more focus on that department. I don't think Iran is in a favorable form at the moment. We need at least 6-7 more meaningful friendlies and more training camps to get ready for World Cup. I am sure Japan can get better but my main concern is about South Korea and Saudi Arabia. South Korea has been in decline since 2013 and they are struggling very bad. I think next summer will be a turning point for Korean football. A disastrous performance in WC can blow up everything there and decrease the interest for football tremendously. It can shift the attention of public to other sports. This won't be good for Asian football in general. Saudi Arabia had a great coach and we were witnessing some good development in that country after a decade. Now that they hired a new and less convincing coach, it doesn't add up to their chances. Considering their rather awful performances in past couple of WCs, I don't see any positive development there. Australia is also struggling but I rate them above Saudis and South Koreans atm. I think they make it to WC and will have a semi decent performance.
What happened to Asian football? Australia, Japan and South Korea were pretty good from 2002-2010 but since then it seems like they have gotten worse. South Korea: -Topped their World Cup group in 2002 (a lot of people don't consider their wins over Italy and Spain to be valid, but they did deserve to top their group). -In 2006 they tied eventual finalists France and were the only team with 4 points to be eliminated in the group stage. -In 2010 they made it out of their group and had a good game with Uruguay. Japan -Topped their group in 2002, lost a close 1-0 game to Turkey. -Admittedly had a poor performance in 2006, only getting 1 point. -Made it out of their group in 2010, almost made the quarterfinals but lost in the penalty shootout against Paraguay. Australia -Made it out of their group in 2006, went to-to-toe with eventual winners Italy. -Got 4 points in 2010, only got eliminated due to goal difference against Ghana, who themselves almost made the semifinals. 2014: -Japan and South Korea get 1 point each despite both having favorable draws. -Australia get 0 points. We all know how Saudi Arabia has declined. Iran seems inconsistent. I remember when I was optimistic about the future of Asian football.
You have to ask South Koreans about Korean football. I can just say they have declined despite having many players in Europe. I only rate SHM as a good player in their whole NT. They used to be fast, sharp and strong. Now they have some speed but not sharp nor strong in the pitch. Their defense line is the worst among top 5-6 best Asian teams. Japan are not bad they are phasing out some old legend and replacing them with new youngsters. It needs a little time and more matches to gel team together. KSA, had a good run coming back from slums of Asia to claim their place among top Asian teams again but after qualifying they lost their coach instead of keeping him. I don't know what is their mentality but that was a big blow to their chances if they had any! Australia is struggling due to a transitional status. Their old golden generation are retired now, so they are going through this rebuilding phase. It may take several years to see them as strong as their prime time. I still think they can perform better than both Saudis and Koreans in world cup. If South Korea was in group B WCQs I bet they couldn't even make it this far. This south Korean team couldn't even pass Australia or KSA and I am sure they would have trouble against UAE. Group A was pretty much one man show and Iran cruised to WC with ease. To be honest I would rather Iran be in a group with Japan and Saudis or Australia to get more excitement but it didn't happen.