So Iran is the best team this qualification cycle and Japan is the second best team. But which group was harder / weaker?
There's nothing like harder/weaker groups in the last round qualifiers when the best (on paper) teams are equally dicided between both groups and all of them have to travel over the long distances around the biggest continent with so many different climats. Of course a group with Japan/South Korea/Iran or Australia could be said as 'killer' one as one of the best teams would need two more games to qualify but it's not in the intrest of AFC itself for this to happen I think so they never did that. And don't forget that Japan achieved an amazing feat being the first ever team in AFC ever that lost the first game in the final round (at home against UAE) and yet got to the WC. Topping the group makes it even bigger. And the atmosphere before the game against Australia was pretty grim with two games left against Australia (Japan never won against Australia in WC qualifiers until yesterday) and away in Saudi Arabia. One bad move and poof, Japan is in the fourth round. So the edge between success and catastrophe is always thin in AFC.
Asian Cup wins (last 40 years): Group A - 0 Iran - 0 Korea Republic - 0 Uzbekistan - 0 China PR - 0 Qatar - 0 Syria - 0 Group B - 9 Japan - 4 Australia - 1 Saudi Arabia - 3 United Arab Emirates - 0 Iraq - 1 Thailand - 0 Asian Cup semi-final appearances (last 3 tournaments); Group A - 4 Iran - 0 Korea Republic - 3 Uzbekistan - 1 China PR - 0 Qatar - 0 Syria - 0 Group B - 8 Japan - 2 Australia - 2 Saudi Arabia - 1 United Arab Emirates - 1 Iraq - 2 Thailand - 0 WC Round of 16 appearances; Group A - 2 Iran - 0 Korea Republic - 2 Uzbekistan - 0 China PR - 0 Qatar - 0 Syria - 0 Group B - 4 Japan - 2 Australia - 1 Saudi Arabia - 1 United Arab Emirates - 0 Iraq - 0 Thailand - 0
Costa Rica's Christian Gamboa got a yellow card in the first game of the CONCACAF Hexagonal and was suspended for the next game, so yellow cards carry forward. http://www.fifa.com/news/y=2017/m=9/news=the-week-in-numbers-2906238.html says: "12 consecutive clean sheets in FIFA World Cup™ qualifying is what Iran became the first team from any confederation to record. Despite being at a numerical disadvantage from just after half-time, and playing away to a Korea Republic side in desperate need of victory, Carlos Queiroz’s Team Melli held out for a 0-0 draw that left them having gone an astonishing 18 hours and 28 minutes since conceding in the Russia 2018 preliminaries."
Yes, according to official FIFA documents set in place for FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification, 2 yellow card in previous round carry forward to next round of the same competition. This implies that 2 cautions received in Qualification Round 2 is carry forward to Round 3 hence, Tommy Rogic was ineligible to play in the match against Saudi Arabia in October last year which ended in a 2-2 draw and as law stands, that much will be forfeited (if claimed by Saudi Arabia) and will be awarded 3-0 victory to Saudi Arabia - if Saudi Arabia claims. According to below 2 links, following is the article articulating the law: http://resources.fifa.com/mm/docume...5_15-00638_101_en_en_june2016_gsa_neutral.pdf http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/50/02/75/discoinhalte.pdf Law 17 Caution 1. A caution (yellow card) is a warning from the referee to a player during a match to sanction unsporting behaviour of a less serious nature (cf. Law 12 of the Laws of the Game). 2. Two cautions received during the same match incur an expulsion (indirect red card) and, consequently, automatic suspension from the next match (cf. art. 18 par. 4). The two cautions that incurred the red card are rescinded. 3. If a player receives a caution in two separate matches of the same FIFA competition, he is automatically suspended from the next match in that competition. The Disciplinary Committee may exceptionally depart from or amend this rule before the start of a particular competition. Any such decision reached by the Disciplinary Committee is final. So, congratulations in Advance to Saudi Arabia if the above law is claimed and applied.
A lot of talented players. Who? Azmoun is a bench warmer in Russia. Ezatolahi hasn't played a single minute so far this season in Russia. Karimi rarely plays in the mighty Croatian league. Hajsafi was unsuccessful in the second Bundesliga. Ghoochannejhad and Ansarifard are only good in non-top 10 European leagues. FYI: Forwards pecking order between Iran and Japan Iran 1. Azmoun (bench warmer in Russia) 2. Ghoochannejhad (failed in the Championship) 3. Ansarifard (failed in the Segunda division) Japan 1. Osako (starter in Bundesliga) 2. Okazaki (starter in EPL) 3. Muto (starter in Bundesliga) By the way, are you 10 years old or something? 10 years ago Iran had a much more threatening squad than the current one with the likes of Mahdavikia, Hashemian, Karimi, Nekounam etc. I even admit that squad wise Iran was almost on par with Japan, Australia and Korea at that time. I don't think so. Iranian players used to move to top leagues (especially Bundesliga) directly from Iran or Arabian gulf countries. Today unfortunately they are simply not good enough to get offers from top leagues. No, he wasn't a key player for Wolfsburg at all. He played 134 games for the club and 61 of those (45.5%) were substitute appearances. I'm sorry for telling the truth.... I disagree. His former Japanese teammate Hasebe enjoyed a more important role at Wolsfburg. He played 135 games there but only 28 of those (20.7%) were substitute appearances. Of course Hasebe earned more playing time than Dejagah in Wolfsburg's 2008/09 Bundesliga winning season. Okazaki was a very important factor in Leicester's EPL title success. Osako is a fixed starter for Koln who finished 5th place in Bundesliga last season. Inui is a fixed starter for Eibar who finished in the top 10 in La Liga last season. No need to talk about Honda and Kagawa. But the top Saudi club players like Sami Al-Jaber and Osama Hawsawi failed even in non-top five leagues. Think of the table I posted like UEFA league ranking. Group A & B sports = top 5 football leagues in Europe. Group C, D & E sports = non top 5 football leagues in Europe. Unfortunately today Iranian people are irrelevant both in Group A & B Olympic sports and top 5 football leagues.
It's not like Kagawa and Okazaki have regressed. Kagawa is expected to be a starter for Dortmund if he comes back from an injury. Okazaki is a starter in EPL and has already scored 2 goals in the league this season. Other top league guys like Shibasaki (La Liga starter), Muto (Bundesliga starter), Sakai (Bundesliga captain) were also unused subs in the Australia game. I would say Japan has the strongest squad in Asia right now followed by Australia and South Korea.
I had forgotten to reply to this. Iran was part of our Empire. That's why you sometimes have East Asian looking players like Khodadad Azizi. Our country wasn't included in Mr Donald Trump's travel ban list. What about Iran?
Doesn't Chengiz Khan belongs to Mongol... And it's the same nation that later on embraced Islam and gave many advancement in various fields to the world (specially after invading Iraq)... I think it was Hilaku Khan.
Strongest defensive team in Asia is Iran but I think strongest offensive team is Japan. Last time Iran and Japan played against each other it was two years ago in a friendly match ended in 1-1. Iran can not rely only on defensive football and that is something which concerns me. South Korea is no longer a part of big 4 in Asia in my opinion. Australia doesn't look good either. I hope we fix the problems soon before we embarrass ourselves (Asia) in WC just like last one.
What is your highest level of education? Did you even finish elementary school? Any educated person knows that It is called Persian gulf.
Why do you guys even bother responding to him when the unique agenda of his created troll account is clearly obvious?
At the moment, my top 4 are Japan, Iran, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. For me, these 4 teams have the strongest squad at the moment.
Kagawa will be in a difficult situation even if he fully fits. Same as other many Japanese players. They are struggling. I hope they will do well . Anyway, I remember some Japanese boasted of Japan's squad before Brazil WC, but What happened? Back then , Japan had clearly better squad than Iran on papar, but Japan failed so miserable, on the other hand , Iran showed very respectable game against Argentine. Now Iran's squad has improved, it is not clear which squad is better on paper. On the other hand , on record , Iran has been the best in Asia for years, as FIFA ranking suggests. Their defense and consistency is beyond Asian level. So I think Iran has the best chance among Asian teams at this point, has a decent chance to go to Best 16. But still Anything can happen, Other Asian teams may surprise. In 2010 WC, Japan lost to Australia in WCQ and everyone including Japanese(me too) thought Japan was hopeless, but what happened? This time Australia may surprise. And, It is really stupid to argue which Asian squad is better on paper before WC. In WC, almost all opponents have better squads on papar than Asians, still we want to win against them. Our opponents are not Asians.
Man call it whatever you wanna call it All the bodies of water had a different names over the years they change from time to time I call it TheShowStealer gulf
Are you guys seriously still talking to "Genghis Khan"? This is the same guy who pretended to be Qatari here for months, until it wasn't convenient to be a Qatari fan anymore, so he adopted his new name "Genghis Khan", a mass murdrer who massacred millions of Iranians, which by itself is a lame attempt at trolling, like someone going on the Israel section here with the username "Hitler". Now who this guy really is? It's pretty obvious by now that he is an Arab/Wahhabi refugee living in Australia. Arguing with a sock puppet like this, is like playing chess with a pigeon. So just don't let him get under your skin by his cheery-picked half truths or "facts" about random subjects. Just ignore the clown, don't give him the attention he seeks. We have nothing to prove to anyone here anyways, when we are clearly the best team in Asia now. The record speaks for itself. Parcham balast.
Absolutely no empathy for Syria and their cruddy team. Lets play as attacking as possible and waste their hopes. Lets see if Omar al Somah even touches the ball
Don't worry. I'm a successful businessman. Everyone wants to work with me. That's why I live in Singapore (far richer country than Iran) and my replies on this site are usually late. I have a life, unlike my Iranian friends who are probably jobless and browsing bigsoccer 24/7. I have nothing against Iranian people but I think Arabian Gulf is more accurate according to history.
Good and happy for you. I do not know about others but I am an Engineer. I got my degree more than one year ago. I am living in California and usually start my working hours around 2:00 pm. I usually leave my work around 10:00 pm but sometimes I may leave around 8:00 pm or stay up to 2:00 am because I get paid on a salary basis. If you go back into my comments, I never posted any comment after 2:00 pm in weekdays. Ok. Call it whatever you like. I really do not care.
@AIL1998 Why are you even bothering with this sock-puppet or letting him get under your skin? Come on man. I thought you're smarter than that. Just ignore his ass, no matter what he says. No need to post your resume here to refute his BS. He keeps baiting you, and you keep falling for it.
Japan has good players in defense too by Asian standard. Yoshida is the only Asian centre back regular in the top 5 leagues (Premier League). Sakai is a regular for French powerhouse Marseille. Nagatomo has started all games for Inter this season. IMO Japan's defense is getting better. Japan conceded a total of only 2 shots on goal against Australia both at home and away.
lmao. Last week 10 Japanese were in the starting line-up in the top 5 leagues. (La Liga (2), Bundesliga (3), Premier League (2), Serie A (1), Ligue 1 (2))