Alert: Will AFC get to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP?

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

I always thought Sth Korea were the best Asian team going in. They were one of only two wagers I had prior to the Cup starting (I backed them at $3.35 to qualify for the second round). Japan's effort has surprised me and I hope they can keep it going. We were outclassed in the first game and hopefully we can turn it around and get some points from our remaining games. Good luck to Nth Korea, but they have an even tougher task than we do.

Hopefully AFC can maintain its 4.5 spots. Its a promising start.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

Well done Japan and South Korea,its always proud to see Asian countries doing well.Hope they reach the knock-out phase

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

Don't forget we also want New Zealand to do well, otherwise the 1/2 spot could get taken away. I actually give them a chance against Slovakia, but it's a hard task otherwise.

If North Korea can bunker down and not get stupid scores against them they will be considerred OK in that group. Better yet if they can pull of a draw.

Australia need to turn things around, otherwise they could be bottom of the tournament on goal difference.

Japan did very well and now have a great chance of advancing when they play Denmark - who have been poor.

Korea I picked to advance from the start, utterly outplayed Greece and would be talked about in the same vain as Germany after they played us except that Greece didn't play football - Greece was far worse than even us!

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

No, we need New Zealand to fail big time. If they fail they keep the 1/2 spot.

If they make the next round, then they turn that 1/2 spot into a full spot for the OFC. AFC then lose that chance of playing OFC in a playoff.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

Good job to bring Saudi into it, SP.

Yea, here's hoping S Korea and Japan can continue their winning ways along with Aust and N Korea picking up a few points too.

S Korea were always going to be the best chance for Asia to get a team in the next round with a good squad and probably the best draw of all the Asian teams.

Not sure i hold the same confidence as you in regards to you thinking we will have two reps for the next round. Both Japan and S Koreas hardest games are yet to come in my opinion. I hope you're right though.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

There is no way in Hell that Oceania gets a full spot. If NZ fail big time it means OFC will play off v C-Caf and C-Bol or Africa takes our half spot.

 

No we haven't lost by outrageous score lines in each tournament we got in. I would seriously zip it eight nothinger.
I know what KSA did, but that was in 94. Since then you keep loosing by outrageous record breaking score lines that only embarrass Asia.

I don't think even N Korea will concede 8 against Brazil tomorrow.

 

Saudi Arabia's 94 effort was crucial to why we can have 4.5 spots today. If that didn't happen we may only have 3.5. Rivalries in asia aside, Saudi Arabia have had a positive effect on asian football. And on the world stage asia should be more united and its good to see koreans happy with japan's result and vice versa.

I think Korea are definitely going through, I fancy Japan's chances against Denmark and for progression too but we'll wait and see how denmark do against Cameroon cause goal difference may come into it on the last game. If Australia don't make it I think they have enough ability for 2 or 3 points from their remaining games at least perhaps 4 but they're in a very difficult group and it'll be tough to progress realistically but you never know. On top of that if DPRK are able to get a draw that would be fantastic.

I'll be interested to see how Australia rebound from this tournament if it doesn't go to plan. I imagine a number of their golden generation will be hanging up the boots after this or after the Asian Cup. So to see if they maintain a position as one of the top 3-5 in asia will be interesting.

 

It will be very interesting. There are a number of countries who have improved recently and whilst I think we will still be in the top 10 and have a chance of qualifying for the next world cup, I doubt very much we would be able to do it as easy as for this world cup. Maybe for 2018 we will be back up there amongst the best.

 

Of the traditional "big 5" if you like, Australia this time round started a bit ahead after 06 but has dropped back to the pack, only Sth Korea has really advanced, Japan has stalled and KSA and Iran are rebuilding.

I think for the next WC Quals you will have Sth Korea as favourites and then Australia, Japan, KSA, Iran along with at least some of Bahrain, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Nth Korea, Qatar and maybe even 1 or 2 others that will all be pretty even. Australia and Japan especially will still have the "been there before" advantage of experience maybe but it will be much closer.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

If New Zealand won the world cup would you still be saying this?

If NZ fail, it doesn't mean AFC lose a spot at all, OFC have nothing to do with the AFC. They got drawn to play a AFC team last time, but in the past AFC have been drawn to play C-Caf aswell, so why does it matter what NZ do.

It matters what AFC do.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

NZ beat Bahrain to get to the WC, so if OFC are horrible (5th place) AFC are worse. That is how it will be seen.

If NZ win the world cup then good luck to them. It will still be seen the same way, OFC = World Champions (5th place) AFC only lost out to World Champions so don't deserve to lose a spot because of it.

 

Actually, there was a change of format for the 1998 World Cup, and the number of the participants, changed from 24 in 1994 to 32 in 1998, that was the main reason why Asia was given 3.5 berth places instead of 2 , not Saudi Arabia's fluke results in 1994.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

Thats not how it works though.

FIFA don't work on qualification rounds to award allocations for the World Cup, so I doesn't matter who beat who, or how you got there. The whole of the AFC's future allocation depends on the current 4 teams playing.

 

Mani is jealous of saudis..CROFL hahaha..

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

A little early to celebrate. It's just the first round. But good results never the less. I do fancy S. Korea's chances, they can beat Nigeria. Japan I'm not so sure. They didn't look good even if they had a good result. Don't have much hope for N. Korea and Australia.

As for our Iranian friends whose sole contribution to this thread is to mock Saudi's record, I'll tell them this: Fluke or no fluke we've reached those heights which is more than can be said for you. And thanks to our exploits in 94 (S Korea too) Asia's allocation did increase in real terms*. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have been there in 98.

*In case you don't understand Mani, I'll explain it to you: The number of teams in 98 were increased by a 3rd (8/24), yet Asia's allocation increased by 75% (1.5/2)

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

Oceania would only get the full spot if the continent had at least 3 teams that seriously competed for that spot at a decent level. So if australia 'had' stayed in Oceania and another team somehow was also at that similar level they may get 1 spot.

Even if NZ won the world cup, it would merely mean they're more than likely to win in their 0.5 spot. You don't give Oceania 1 spot so that NZ can guarantee qualification every 4 years cause lets face it they cruise through oceania.

 

Next qualifiers favourites will be determined by firstly how teams do in this tournament and also a little by how the Asian Cup goes.

If Japan make the R16 which I like the chances now (cameroon didn't force defence, japan chose it, telling factor was how japan voluntarily started all-out defence immediately after scoring). Basically then it'll be japan and korea republic most likely to be favourites. Australia's in Korea Rep's group at the AC2011 so people are going to use that result to compare (fair or not) before the WCQ's.

What was good I liked about Japan this 4 yr cycle was the ability to have a relatively major generation change and still be top 3 in asia and still comfortably qualify the fact a younger player took Shunsuke Nakamura's place says it all. I just aren't sure if Australia will do that, most of their best will retire, I can't think Australia will be nearly at the level they were even currently and that's a bit due to the fact the teams core has been there for about the last decade or even more in some players cases. I'd like to see Valeri and Federici really step up.

I'd be interested to know what Australian posters consider their best "U27" team currently. That takes out Schwarz, Neill, Moore, Beauchamp, Wilkshire, Chippers, Cahill, Culina, Emerton, Grella, Bresciano, Kennedy, Kewell, Garcia. Almost the entire starting XI included to.

With what's left you could make:

Rukavytsya
Holman---Valeri---Jedinak---Vidosic
???---???---Milligan---???
Federici​

Plus maybe Rhys Williams, Lowry, McDonald.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

Why not? Concacaf get 3 spots which gurantee's USA and Mexico qualification all the time.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

I don't think you quite get what i'm saying. yes US and Mexico always go through but if you look at the final table of CONCACAF

USA: 20pts
Mexico 19pts
Honduras 16pts
Costa Rica 16pts
El Salvador 8pts
Trinidad and Tobago 6pts

Now on the other hand New Zealand's qualifying table in OFC

New Zealand 15pts
New Caledonia 8pts
Fiji 7pts
Vanuatu 4pts

New Zealand didn't even need their best team to play to complete rape that qualifying group. That is how head and shoulders above the rest of OFC they are. USA & Mexico at least had to use their full lineups most of the time to get results. It was a tight contest for the 3 spots. Yes they qualify but that gap isn't nearly as close. The fact T&T qualified for '06 and were bottom in '10 shows how the confederation status is more everchanging. But New Zealand are no.1 in OFC, and for the foreseeable future always will be.

The point is, is that if OFC had 1 spot, New Zealand could get to a seriously disastrously low level and still qualify for the world cup. And FIFA are not prepared to sacrifice one FWC of New Zealand getting the crap beaten out of them before putting it back to 0.5 spots. You wouldn't risk that it would just look ridiculous, cause frankly if NZ wasn't there Thailand would be able to top that group (with all due respect) and Thailand are still a while away from WC quality.

A simple way to get around the risk about that is to simply have a playoff with team from another confederation.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

At least, we have not embarrassed Asia. Only Saudis and a few World Cup buffs still remember Saudi Arabia's fluke win against a low-level European team, but everyone remembers Saudi Arabia's infamous 8-0 humiliation at the hands of the Germans.
At the end of the day, Saudis have done far more damage to AFC's reputation than good.

As I said, Saudi's 1994 performance had little or no effect on AFC's spot allocations for 1998. 3 was the proportional increase of Asia's allocations in the new 32-team format, and the extra half spot was given to AFC largely thanks to Australia, who were still upset about having had to play Argentina in the 1994 WCQ playoff, joining AFC in lobbying FIFA, in order to get an easier path to the World Cup.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

If it was proportional, the Asia would get .5 a seat not 1.5.

 

Re: Asia gets to keep its 4 automatic berth places to FIFA WORLD CUP!

Buddy, Korea and Japan were bidding for the 2002 world cup in the 90's. The Japanese professional football league came into existence only in 1993 and the game was just getting popular there. Fifa also had this in mind when they started to allocate more spots to AFC and it wasn't that hard since they increased WC spots from 24 to 32.
Anyhow, even if KSA had a role in all of this, it was only minimal! Plus you guys do nothing but destroy the image of Asian football any chance you get! Eight nothing versus Germany, regular 4-0 score lines against average teams and ... Look @ North Korea, they didn't even have $ to get their own gym in South Africa. They had to go to a public gym to train and they managed to hold Brazil!!!!
Right now you keep saying KSA has went to the next round! Woop de doo! Lets see if you can qualify ever again.