They probably will concede today because their lineup is offensive today. They managed to work in 3 strikers/1 right winger into the lineup with two in the Central midfield.
Assuming the results hold, Iran could be very well on the way to Russia. Meanwhile, Australia and Japan are playing Musical Chairs for Group Bs second spot
You almost certainly don't need to fear Iran facing a CONCACAF team until the World Cup itself any more. Iran is now just two wins and a draw away from a World Cup berth, and has home matches remaining against Uzbekistan, Syria, and China, plus an away match against South Korea. It's Iran 14, South Korea 10, Uzbekistan 9, Syria 8. There are four match days remaining in the group, and Uzbekistan hasn't hosted South Korea yet, and South Korea hasn't hosted Syria yet. So the most challenging situation for Iran is Uzbekistan with four more wins to end on 21, and Syria with four more wins to end on 20. So 21 points will advance Iran in second place at worst. Also, two more wins themselves would suffice for Iran, as long as one of those wins is against Uzbekistan or Syria.
Oh yes, Iran is getting their ticket. The other group is more interesting, I expect Korea to do enough, and the Uzbeks to finish 3rd. My bet for the play-off would be Panama-Australia.
I think it's too soon to be so pessimistic, but even if we don't finish fourth I still feel confident we can pip T&T for that pride-saving fifth spot.
Unless something drastically changes, I can't see Korea getting through this. They lost the "gimme" matchup against China, by far the weakest in the group. Uzbekistan and Syria are both teams Korea will struggle with, and expecting a win against Iran would be foolish. They might get third in Group A, but they would crumble under the pressure of a must-win playoff to the team from Group B (probably Australia or UAE). And to be frank, the way Korea is playing - they wouldn't deserve to go to the World Cup. If they did manage it, it'd be purely on luck and sheer individual ability and also being a really weak federation, not on any cohesive team play.
R. of Korea has done this before though. Looking bad at first, recovering in the second half of group quals. And I'm counting on the USA getting the third direct ticket, that's why I put Panama in the playoff.
Bolivia playing a strange defensive system in Barranquilla, versus a very powerful Colombia (Arsenal, Milan, Juve, Real Madrid, Fiorentina, represented in their starting XI --arguably a team stronger than the one they brought to the Centenario). Tons of fun, the Bolivians instead of bunkering the traditional way, keep covering the mid-distance between two players, so when the Colombians move forward, there's always two Bolivians on the guy with the ball, in a fraction of a second. So far, fun game.
I actually do see them getting through this... if they were in the other group, no way.. but in this group, none of the other teams have shown anywhere near the consistency needed to realistically challenge... the final group game however is Uzbekistan vs Korea... should Uzbekistan still be in this by then, maybe they'll have a chance. But Uzbekistan are perennial chokers themselves... S.Korea have always pulled through in the end on the other hand....
What a goal by Neymar, god. What a goal. And this is how you take a FK, Romulo Otero scores for Venezuela vs. Peru:
Highlights from Qatar v Iran last night... a decent crowd by Qatar standards... mind you it's a pretty small stadium. Managed to get a lot of goalmouth action, but when it mattered most, was a bit slow to the button when it came to the actual goal...
It was good, but a confident keeper stops that. Gallese is shot from his middling performances with relegation-threatened Veracruz...
If my math is right, Venezuela is eliminated with a loss/draw vs. Chile on Tuesday. They are also eliminated with an Ecuador win vs. Colombia They only way for them to remain mathematically alive is a Win + Ecuador loss
Just found out that Venezuela could mathematically be alive if they win and Ecuador draw as well. Bolivia would also have similar scenarios as Venezuela. Also, Thailand could be eliminated with a loss + Australia win, and Iran could clinch AT LEAST a spot in the tiebreaker with a win, + Qatar loss + Syria/Uzbekistan draw
Posted. Also figured out that Venezuela, Thailand, and Bolivia are eliminated with losses regardless.
Not surprised. They have a horrible, horrible coach who somehow has managed to convince the Dutch they have a miserable pool of players this generation.
Just Euro qualifiers tomorow, but some highlights include Poland vs. Montenegro and Romania vs. Denmark. Montenegro want to get a good result so neither Romania nor Denmark leapfrog them for that second spot in Group E! Oh, and England plays Lithuania and Scotland play Slovenia No qualifiers on Monday, but Tuesday is a big day, as we could see some eliminations in CONMEBOL, AFC, and OFC, along with potentially our first qualifier for the World Cup other than hosts Russia. (Brazil could qualify on Monday, but they'd need to win and have some other results go their way)
Kind of strange contrast between Group A (Iran, S.Korea, Uzbekistan, Syria, China & Qatar) + Group B (Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iraq & Thailand) in Asia. Group A is a very low scoring group for some reason when compared to group B... you've got 26 goals as compared to the 48 goals scored in the 16 games so far from group B... that's 1.44 goals per game only in Group A, and 2.67 gpg in Group B. What makes that stat even more compelling is that 10 of those goals came from two South Korean home fixtures vs Qatar + China. Take those games out and you're looking at exactly one-goal per game. The other game played in Seoul was S.Korea vs Uzbekistan which ended 2-1... take out all three of the games played in Seoul and you have under a goal per game being scored in all game in Group A which is shockingly low. Only one game played out of Seoul produced more than one goal, and that was Iran 2-0 Qatar... and even that if I'm not mistaken didn't have a single goal scored in normal time, as both goals were scored in injury time. Group B meanwhile hasn't had a single goalless draw, as compared to the 4 in Group A, and only 2 1-0, compared to the 9 single goal matches in Group B. So I guess if goals are what you are into, and want to watch some Asian Qualifiers... might want to catch a Group B game, and avoid Group A.
After the 3rd day of Euro qualifiers this weekend, it looks as if the Euro qualifying picture is a bit more clear. Next matchday (in June) we could likely see a handful of teams being unable to qualify directly after their matches, and even some eliminations