Qatar team will arrive Maldives tomorrow (9/6/2015) for WCQ match against Maldives. Recently Maldives completed a training camp in South Korea.
Qatar fans seem convinced of a double-digit drubbing. Iranian fans were as well 4 years ago, but their team was unable to do so due to the pitch in Male' being "too dry".
5-0 on agg. is a good enough drubbing for me, whats this "pitch was too dry" thing you keep talking about btw? It sounds hilarious.
Vel kon. I want Maldives to beat Qatar anyway. I wasnt aware that Qatar had famous players. Prediction Maldives 0-0 Qatar
Your assistant coach at the time, a Portuguese guy, had a little rant after the second leg that became a something of a joke among fans over here. It was a terrible game to watch where neither side managed to really get going and he put it down to a lack of moisture on the surface, despite the fact that it had been absolutely pouring down the whole week. It's the middle of the monsoon season right now as well and it has been raining non-stop for a few days now. I wonder how the Qatari players are going to take it. They obviously don't feel the need to adjust to the environment seeing as they're scheduled to arrive really late tonight.
I dont think thats a worry for Qatar. Most of their players are from Africa anyway. They are used to tropic/warm/dry weather
Preview: Maldives v Qatar Should be a relatively east match for Qatar. The only thing going for Maldives is home advantage. Qatar have played friendlies against decent European opposition while Maldives had a friendly hack in March, a loss against Tajikistan. Qatar easy win.
I want to see China in the final round, it's kind of hard to believe they haven't even made it to the final round since they played at the World Cup in 2002.
Hoping for Maldives to shock Qatar. Considering they have the home advantage I predict 1-1 with Ali Ashfaq getting the goal.
Qatar 2-0 Maldives not a double digit match. It is if Maldives play their hard defensive way otherwise Qatar can score up to 5 goals. This group is so easy to guess who advances to the next level. They are China and Qatar and I believe both advance to the next level.
(Left to right) Jaimes McKee, Chan Wai-Ho and Festus Baise represent the multi-ethical Hong Kong national team. South China Morning Post Hong Kong confident of World Cup qualifying booster against Bhutan Coach Kim Pan-gon believes his team will be too strong for the Himalayan minnows as they begin their campaign to reach 2018 tournament in Russia Chan Kin-wa It has been almost eight years since Hong Kong last won a World Cup qualifying match, but that barren spell should end when they play hosts to Bhutan at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday night. The coach and the players have said they're confident of a victory to kick off their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign positively in a group that also features Maldives, China and Qatar. The small Himalayan nation was the world's lowest ranked national team for much of last year. Only a headline-grabbing win over Sri Lanka in the two-legged preliminary stage of Asian zone qualifying saw Bhutan surge up the rankings when the groups were drawn in April. They currently sit at 159, four places above Hong Kong. There is no professional league in the country and the national team players all have full-time jobs outside the game. Their captain Karma Shedrup Tshering, for example, is a pilot, while 19-year-old Chencho Gyeltshen, who scored both goals against Sir Lanka in the 2-1 win, is a student. Bhutan were humbled 10-1 in a friendly match against Thai club side Honda Ladkrabang FC when they toured there in preparation for Thursday's clash. Hong Kong captain Chan Wai-ho, who played in the last World Cup qualifying win - 8-1 against Timor Leste in 2007 - has almost forgotten the taste of victory in World Cup qualifiers. "I really look forward to a victory in a big tournament such as the World Cup qualifiers," said the centre half. "Hopefully we can secure at least third place, and maybe even second place with a little bit of luck. "The opening match will be important and we must try to get into the match as soon as possible and score goals to boost confidence." Coach Kim Pan-gon is expecting a big win. "We studied the footage of their two matches against Sri Lanka and they are still not up to our level. We can handle it," he said. "We have made very good progress since the training camp in Malaysia and I will push the players to score as many goals as possible [tonight] so that they can enjoy the sweet taste of a win."
I hope Maldives give the Qataris a scare at least, they are capable of a few surprises. I also hope our coach Kim Pan-Gon's confidence is not misplaced. We need to win against Bhutan and Maldives at home if we are to even have a chance of finishing second. This team has many new faces and they need these "easier" games to gel as a team.
Maldives World Cup qualification record is truly horrendous. Played: 24 Won: 5 Drawn: 2 Lost: 17 Scored: 27 Conceded: 100
Take out the 4 losts and 31 goals against our team and your score is not that bad. your team was performing good under your former Argentinian coach.
All tickets in Mongkok stadium were sold out before 1.5 hour of kick off time. Another full house match after ACQ vs Vietnam on 22 March 2013!
Also the 24 goals by Syria, 11 by China, 8 by Lebanon etc... The Argentinian coach, Diego Cruciani was at the helm for only six months. He took us back to square one during his stint by picking the old guard and completely ignoring young players. The guy was an idiot, I'm convinced that he was shady as hell with connections to gangs and match fixers. All the good work was done by his predecessors, a Bulgarian and a Slovak, both of whom had been coaching Maldivian clubs for many years before taking charge of the national team.
That was so close by the Maldives. I really wish they had performed an upset. Now we must be careful against them next Tuesday. It was a full house at Mongkok Stadium yesterday. The fans power really energized the team. Poor Bhutan they clearly lack experience at (even) this level. 4,000 tickets already sold for the Maldives game on Tuesday, so hopefully it will be another full house. Even more hopefully, a 40,000 full house for the Hong Kong - China game in November at Hong Kong Stadium.
South China Morning Post Hong Kong run riot in World Cup soccer qualifier against minnows Bhutan 7-0 goal rampage gives hosts a boost in confidence with six players scoring, including a brace for Jaimes McKee Chan Kin-wa Hong Kong easily cleared the first hurdle in their World Cup soccer qualifiers with a convincing victory over minnows Bhutan, but their euphoria will be short-lived as the next game could be tougher against the Maldives. A thrilling 7-0 result on Thursday night, with four goals in the first half, gave a packed 6,300-strong crowd a memorable evening at Mong Kok Stadium, but poor finishing in the second half raised concerns. There was a lack of a killer instinct when the hosts failed to take advantage of their tiring opponents, who are remarkably ranked 159 - above Hong Kong's 164. Forward Jaimes McKee and second-half substitute Godfred Karikari sparked a plethora of chances after Hong Kong hit the seven-goal mark on 68 minutes. Despite missed opportunities, both players found the net with McKee hitting a brace in the 19th and 57th minutes. Coach Kim Pan-gon was a happy man following the match. "As a coach, I am hungry to see more goals, but I don't think there is any problem with my players," said Kim. "After taking such a big lead and getting the match under control, the intensity levels dropped a lot, but you cannot ask for more from the boys. The result has already given my team sufficient motivation for their next match against the Maldives." McKee, who scored a beautiful diving header to put Hong Kong into the lead in the first half, admitted he worked hard to try to get a hat-trick. "Unfortunately, it did not happen," he said. "I was hungry for more goals but am happy about getting two." Hong Kong's other players on the score sheet included Christian Annan, Ju Yingzhi, Lo Kwan-yee and Lam Ka-wai. "It's so pleasing to see many of my teammates score goals, no matter what background they come from," said Lo. "We have a strong unity as members of the Hong Kong team and the result tells it all." The last time Hong Kong finished with such an impressive scoreline was in 2009 when they thrashed Guam 12-0 in the second round of the East Asian Championships in Taiwan. The coach of Guam at that time was Norio Tsukitate, from Japan, and he was leading Bhutan last night. "I really wanted us to come away with a win," said the Bhutan coach. "Our players can do better, maybe in their next match or next month, but they did give it their best for 90 minutes." Now Kim is looking ahead to Hong Kong's next game in group C, which will be against tougher opponents the Maldives. Hong Kong will be keen to collect a second win in a row to boost their Asian Zone qualifying hopes for the World Cup. "It should be a more balanced game against Maldives," said the coach. "We will need more discipline, more resolve in defence and power to tackle our next opponents." Some 4,000 tickets have already been sold for the Maldives match and organisers are hoping for a second full house in a row at Mong Kok Stadium on Tuesday to give the Hong Kong team another boost. Meanwhile, the Philippines pulled off a shock 2-1 victory over Bahrain in their opening World Cup qualifier in Manila. The hosts scored two goals in 10 second-half minutes to get all three points in their group H match. Bahrain had been firm favourites to win.