I am not sure which Group is stronger, but I have no doubt that at the end of the stage the postings of Group A will be at least 20 times more then the postings of Group B.
this group is harder, all the teams are the better one in their pots despite Iran is a little weaker than Australia
simple fact that the group included the dark horse of the asia uzi, it is the group of death. it is a three horse race between us, iran, uzi.
Based on what objective criteria is Iran " a little weaker" than Australia? Iran is undefeated in in Asia for 4 years. If anything, China should have hoped for Australia, as Aussies seem to be shaky away from home, whereas Iran will most likely collect all 3 points in China as it always has. Also, if any teams in any pot is significantly weaker than the other , it has to be China who bearly made it here in comparison to UAE who have been a solid team for 3-4 years now. Also, Qatar is a much better team these days than Iraq.
The groups were always going to be pretty even IMO no matter what, but I do feel that this one is a slightly easier one for Korea from scheduling perspective due to China being in the group (same area, less traveling) and the Syrian away match being at a neutral venue.
Sure why not, I feel that our overall gameplay vs them the last 3-4 games have been fine, it's not as if were cornered and dominated in both games we lost last time around. As long as we can keep that up we'll eventually get a good result.
History is against Iran this time as they make the World Cup every 8 years. If this trend continues, the race for second spot is between Uzbekistan, Qatar and China.
This is the same group as 2014- Uzbekistan, Qatar, Iran, and Korea all together with Syria replacing Lebanon and China being added to the mix as the 6th team. I think the structure of qualifying favors teams that are settled and have a good amount of depth. If you need a couple of friendlies to figure out how to best optimize your starting XI you are out of luck- because there's only one official friendly date in the calendar before qualifying kicks off. To that end- Korea, Iran, and Uzbekistan are the favorites to qualify directly. Korea haven't conceded a goal in 7 qualifying games and two friendlies (last goal they conceded was in a friendly vs. Uzbekistan in March 2015) and are the only team to advance to this stage with a 100% record. Iran were pretty efficient in their group 6 wins, 2 draws. They're imperious at home but they always seem to struggle against certain teams on the road and it wouldn't surprise me to see them draw against Qatar- or even Syria. Uzbekistan were decimated by Korea DPR early in qualifying- down 4-0 after 30 minutes en route to a 4-2 loss but they rebounded really well. That said, this is the team that always fails to rise to the occasion- how they didn't manage to beat Jordan in the playoff last time around is perplexing. Qatar- flat track bullies. They were handed the easiest group and duly dispatched of teams that just aren't very good. China- A mess at the moment. Were lucky to qualify for the Asian Cup and got lucky in qualifying for the final round of WCQ- owe Philippines a giant debt of gratitude. Syria- A mystery. Excellent against everyone in their group except Japan- who throttled them twice. If they can learn from that experience perhaps they can make a go of it in qualifying- but they're without a coach now and as much as I'd like to see a fairytale story here- it all seems a bridge too far.
I remember last qualifying run Uzi somehow beat Iran in Tehran 1-0. But before that Iran beat Uzi 1-0 in Tashkent. So, this kind of results can happen. Biggest concern for Iran for the moment is that they're going to transition from couple of old guards to new generations of players. Which could leave Iran a little bit vulnerable this time. Which is exactly what we(Korea) want. Sure would love a chance to even up the score on the two losses we suffered against Iran. But jumping back to Uzi, they are clearly the better team than Saudi. That alone will make this group a clusterfcuk. There is absolutely no guarantee that Korea and Iran gets a direct ticket to Russia. It's a three horse race between Korea Iran and Uzi. Other three are spoilers. This time, group has total of six teams instead five. Two extra game will only benefit the better teams. It will not benefit middle of pack teams. Finally, as for Korea Iran match, it was unclear before the which teams gets the home game first. I was surprised to see Iran as the first seed gets their home game first against us then away game. I personally prefer playing the tough away game first and finish the leg at home. Don't know how Iranians feel about that. Edit: just double checked the 2014 qualification and noticed Iran lost to Lebanon in Beirut 1-0, and draw against Qatar 0-0 in Tehran. Iran qualfied at the strength of getting max six points against us. Iran played a dangerous game last time around. Not sure if Iran wants to play the same game. When Iran was back in the heels with nowhere to go, they played their hearts out and got the result against us in Tehran with a men down and scored away winner. But can Iran this time go through a little easier route by collecting all three points against the bottom three teams. Qatar, China could be a hand full. Syria is a nothing team.
I am actually happy hosting Korea first and then playing away. As for how I see the match ups in this group, with a little luck I think Iran should be able to take 6 points from Syria and at least 4 points from China, Uzbekistan and Qatar each. Overall, I see Iran finishing with 19-21 points in the group if we don't mess it up. That should be enough for one of the top 2 positions in the group. But I do have to admit that history is against Iran. Since 1998, we have qualified to the World Cup every other turn and this isn't our turn based on that pattern. Logically, these kind of things shouldn't matter much but I admit the superstitious part of me is a bit concerned.
I think this group will come down to the last match day again which is: Iran vs Syria Uzbekistan vs Korea Qatar vs China
History is against all three of those teams for not qualifying at all for the last 3 cycles. In fact, history is against Qatar. Qatar has never qualified to the World Cup. With their amazing Asian cup performance I expect this trend to continue.
I know this is where the party's at! It's like coming back to school from a long summer break, what's up old pals?!
We have the psychological edge against Korea, as we have 4 consecutive wins agqinst them. This will surely be an advantage, but the only problem is that Iran is in transitioning period and there are some young new players that have not been truly under pressure yet