Final 3rd round results: Korea vs China [1 sep 2016] 2-0 loss China vs Iran [6 sep 2016] 1-1 draw China vs Syria [6 oct 2016] 2-1 win Uzbekistan vs China [11 oct 2016] 1-1 draw China vs Qatar [15 nov 2016] 3-0 win China vs Korea [23 mar 2017] 2-0 loss Iran vs China [28 mar 2017] 2-0 loss Syria vs China [13 jun 2017] 1-2 win China vs Uzebeksitan [31 aug 2017] 3-1 win Qatar vs China [5 sep 2017] 1-0 loss note: like in 08/10/2015 world cup qualification match Total points: 14 points Final position: 3rd place finish, advance to 4th round Final 4th round (playoff) results: China vs Iraq [5 oct 2017] 3-1 win Iraq vs China [10 oct 2017] 2-1 loss note: 4-3 win on aggregate, through to 5th round CONCACAF playoff Final 5th round (playoff) results: China vs Honduras [6 nov 2017] 3-0 win Honduras vs China [14 nov 2014] 1-0 loss note: 3-1 win on aggregate, through to world cup 2018 group stage I used this website to predict my results. It gives previous head to head results: Korea http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer-...atistics/all/453_China_PR/1385_Korea_Republic Iran http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer-...to_head_statistics/all/453_China_PR/1178_Iran Syria http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer-...o_head_statistics/all/453_China_PR/2202_Syria Uzbekistan http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer-...d_statistics/all/453_China_PR/2301_Uzbekistan Qatar http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer-...o_head_statistics/all/453_China_PR/1774_Qatar Iraq http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer-...to_head_statistics/all/453_China_PR/1179_Iraq Honduras http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer-...ead_statistics/all/453_China_PR/1099_Honduras I predict Uzbekistan vs China [11 oct 2016] will be the most crucial game (bolded red). If they get a draw or win they they will go to the playoffs, a loss would mean Uzbekistan goes to the playoffs.
I'm on the edge between 4th and 5th, but I'd like to be optimistic and hope for 3rd. I don't see our squad taking 1st or 2nd from S. Korea or Iran, and we're always iffy against the Uzbeks and we've even been unconvincing against Qatar in recent history. Don't think we've ever done well in West Asia in away games either. With the current squad, best case scenario we're looking at a draw and loss against Korea and Iran, win-loss against Uzbekistan, win-draw against Qatar, and hopefully 2 convincing wins against Syria. That puts us around 15 points which should be more than enough to get 3rd or even challenge for higher. Problem is our qualifying performances up to this point have been poor and the team is always inconsistent in long stretches. Hopefully Gao Hongbo can get them motivated away from home to get the results we need.