One of the Group of Deaths if you ask me.. I would say UAE to win the group, with KSA as runners-up but Palestine and Malaysia are tough nuts to crack (especially at home).
Palestine are a mystery. They've reshuffled the squad completely and introduced a lot of young players who don't have a lot experience. If the kids are ready for prime time then Palestine might have a say in this group. Two matches on the road to start, a 1-goal loss and a win in Malaysia would be a good start for them, in my opinion.
Palestine first home game against Saudi is in Dammam not in Palestine or Jordan which I can say to be frank is not fair from KSA NT point of view. They should have atleast asked to play the match in Jordan so that the home team gets support from the local Palestianans staying there and also who will travel from there own country. Regarding , KSA chances of winning the group , IMO is less a we dont have well tested coach yet for the campaign. If the present coach picks up well then we can say we can dream to win the group. Also , we are using the same squad as before which have still not clicked under many coaches since 3-4 years which is another worry .
UAE should easily top this group. Saudi should scrape through for 2nd and that's because of experience and a stable country. Palestine unfortunately will be stuck with Timor leste and Malaysia, given Palestines whole squad has changed from their asian cup team.
I believe its a 50:50 chance for UAE or KSA to top the group and if Palestine and Malaysia manged to organize their defense and execute quick counter attacks they'll cause some trouble, Timor leste? underdog of the year or 3 pts giveaway? Last time UAE & KSA faced each other was on November 23rd 2014 and it ended with a loss for UAE 2-3 last time UAE won against KSA on January 27th 2007 In the Asian Cup of Nation they met twice where UAE lost the first 0-2 in 1992 semifinal @ Hiroshima. the second was in 1996 final @ Abu Dhabi which ended with Saudi's winning by penalty shootout.
Don't worry UAE you have Abdurahman, Makhbout and the other guy I forgot his name (maybe Khalil) and you Iranian AC coach so you will whoop Saudis bad this time!
Timor Leste match against UAE is wake up call for Saudis , with the current form and players and I think they can give hard time to the team. For Palestine , they can produce one or more shocker for either KSA or UAE.
Again all these minnow nations have not had the exposure of playing a number of international matches. Timor Leste will improve eith each game they play. I do hope they beat KSA
This group is wide open and I wouldn't even rule out Malaysia finding a way to produce an upset or two (they'll have to make some serious changes though). Timor Leste will be tough to crack, seem to be a very disciplined side. Palestine will get better once they get back to full health- Ashraf Nu'man and Abuhabib should provide a different element in attack. If they can get some of their defenders (Dheeb, Daniel Kabir Mustafa, Bahdari, or Cohene) back this would be a very formidable team. Saudi Arabia and UAE were expected to run away with this group but I don't see this happening. They'll need to play a lot better than they did in their first game.
The Star National football captain: I’m sorry BY JOASH EE DE SILVA National football team captain Safiq Rahim (centre) and his team-mates after conceding a goal against Palestine in the World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium on Tuesday. Malaysia lost 6-0. - BERNAMA PETALING JAYA: “I’m sorry,” says national football team skipper Safiq Rahim. The Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) midfielder has apologised to football fans for the national team’s disgraceful performance in the 6-0 thrashing by Palestine in their 2018 World Cup qualifying match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday. “On behalf of the whole team, we are deeply sorry to all Malaysians as we have let the nation down by this embarrassing loss,” said an emotional Safiq. “I hope that whoever represents the country after this will not allow a repeat of this kind of loss.” Safiq admitted that his team-mates failed to put up a creditable performance and lacked “fighting spirit” when the chips were down. “Yes, we did not have the fighting spirit ... and this maybe is one of our weak points. “We tried to compete and we even tried to score but when we failed to take our chances ... we just collapsed as a team.” Asked if he would represent the national team again, he replied: “If I’m given another chance after this, I will definitely give my full commitment.” National coach Dollah Salleh has said that he would ring in the changes and bring in new faces, including some of the Singapore SEA Games Under-23 squad players, to replace the seniors for their next match – away to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sept 3. Malaysia drew 1-1 with Timor Leste in their opening Asian Zone second round Group A campaign at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil last Thursday. The national team’s second phase of training will be from July 14-23. This will be followed by a friendly against English Premier League club Liverpool at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on July 24. The third phase of training, from Aug 23-Sept 19, is to prepare for the qualifying matches against the UAE on Sept 3 at home and Saudi Arabia away on Sept 8. The return matches against Timor Leste will be on Oct 13, Palestine (Nov 12), UAE (Nov 17) and Saudi Arabia (March 24).
Timor-Leste coach Fabio Joaquim has resigned to take over UAE side Dibba El-Hisn. I wonder how Timor-Leste will respond to this... Can they find a suitable replacement in time and keep playing the type of football that got them this far?
Timor Leste naturalised 2 more strikers 2014 Thailand Premier league top scorer, Heberty, had naturalised and is qualified to play for Timor Leste. Heberty had played in Japan for Cerezo Osaka & Thespa Kusatsu. Also naturalised is Thiago Cunha, who had been playing for Chonburi FC since 2012 Imagine a forward line of Thiago Cunha & Murilo de Almeida with Heberty in the hole.
On what basis are these players being naturalized. Are there really that many East Timorese living in Brazil?