To me, the only explanation that makes any sense is that they won the home leg at a "neutral" site 1-0. Therefore they might feel they have more of a case in the appeal to FIFA to simply let the result of the first leg stand. If they were down 1-0 after the first leg, then it's easy for AFC or FIFA to simply say "Ok, fine, whatever you say....we'll cancel the second leg. You lose 1-0."
FT: Malaysia 5:1 Timor Leste Brunei 2:1 Mongolia Guam 5:0 Bhutan Macau no show for their second leg match in Sri Lanka. So Malaysia, Mongolia, Guam and Sri Lanka are through to the group stages.
Pakistan 1-2 Cambodia So this means Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia are set for their debuts in Round 2. Indonesia were suspended in the last edition.
Not sure of anyone in pot 4 or 5 who can be at all disruptive, but a lot of those 2's and 3's seem interchangeable to me. India is the biggest wildcard
Singapore did get a draw in Japan last cycle. Them or Indonesia might be able to snag a surprise result but everyone else except maybe Guam in pot 5 is going to get murdered. Especially Sri Lanka. Unless by "disruptive" you mean actually going through to the next round in which case, probably only Kuwait has a chance to do that
FIFA has spoken. https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/fifa-disciplinary-committee-sanctions-macau-football-association "The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has today sanctioned the Macau Football Association for failing to play the second leg of their first-round match against Sri Lanka in the AFC’s FIFA World Cup 2022™ preliminary competition. The match between Sri Lanka and Macau, which was due to be played on 11 June 2019, has been declared a 3-0 forfeit victory for Sri Lanka, with the Macau Football Association also receiving a fine of CHF 10,000..."
Macau FA must be super happy with this outcome. Macau govt will pay their fine so they have no problems. Now I hope Hong Kong draws Sri Lanka and then see how HKFA deals with this issue.
Round 2 draw results Group A: China PR, Syria, Philippines, Maldives, Guam Group B: Australia, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait, Nepal Group C: IR Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Cambodia Group D: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen, Singapore Group E: Bangladesh, Oman, India, Afghanistan, Qatar Group F: Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Mongolia Group G: UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia Group H: Korea Republic, Lebanon, Korea DPR, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka
Some interesting match ups there. Iran vs Iraq, Australia vs Jordan, Saudi Arabia vs Palestine, North vs South Korea’s. I hope the UAE like their tropical SE Asian get-aways. Japan might as well keep playing their under 23 squad in preparation for the Olympics, with a group that simple.
You miss Saudi vs Yemen. And all of Asean matches as well. Seriously how the hell happened on Group G? Remind me of 2018 Qualifier where Thai, Indo, Vietnam in same group.
What happens when Qatar finishes top of their group or top 4 runner up positions? Will another team take their place in the third round?
Korea Republic, Lebanon, Korea DPR, Turkmenistan. Let's see if they will refuse to travel to Sri Lanka, too, just like Macau. That should give 12 easy points to Sri Lanka.
The SEA teams are going to be so consumed by the derby thing, I feel that they are going to take points off each other and ultimately provide UAE with a clear passage to the next round. Just as well that they have been grouped together. I recently found that they have the most annoying fans on social media
Jordan and Australia drawn together again Iran and Iraq as well, and North vs South Korea ofcourse to add some spice. Group E and F look straightforward to me. Group D, G, H definitely the hardest groups with teams capable of pulling off upsets. Can't wait for the qualifiers to start
Early predictions Group Winners China Australia Iran Uzbekistan Qatar Japan UAE South Korea Best Runners-up Saudi Arabia Syria Jordan Iraq Oman 5th best Runner up to replace Qatar.
They were suspended, so didn't play in the last qualifiers. I have a feeling that one of Saudi or Uzbekistan may miss out on the next round. This was probably the worst draw as far as the Saudis are concerned, with Palestine and Yemen in the same group as well. Whoever finishes second may draw too many games and miss out on the best runners-up spots.
True. This is the risk of Group of Deaths. I think Group B, G and H could also turn out ugly for the pot 1 teams. Gap in Asia is getting closer as we could see in the 2019 Asian Cup.
The allocation wont change for 2022 but there will likely be some modifications to qualification for 2026.
There was an impressive abundance of goals this thursday. Group A: Syria 2-1 Maldives, China PR 7-0 Guam Group B: Australia 5-0 Nepal, Jordan 0-0 Kuwait Group C: IR Iran 14-0 Cambodia, Iraq 2-0 Hong Kong Group D: Saudi Arabia 3-0 Singapore, Uzbekistan 5-0 Yemen Group E: Oman 3-0 Afghanistan, Bangladesh 0-2 Qatar Group F: Japan 6-0 Mongolia, Kyrgyz Republic 7-0 Myanmar Group G: United Arab Emirates 5-0 Indonesia, Vietnam 1-0 Malaysia Group H: Lebanon 2-1 Turkmenistan, Korea Republic 8-0 Sri Lanka There're really weak teams in Asia.
The draw was based on the seedings and in this round (apart from group E) the top ranked sides were playing the bottom ranked sides at home.
This was always going to be the blowout round. It's good though, in a way. It would have given a good kick up the backsides of some of the football federations and prompted them to own up and do something useful with all the cash given by FIFA and AFC.
Nevertheless, WCQ are the best chances for weaker teams to have a battle with top Asian teams. See from different perspectives. Lot of benefits that minnow teams can learn from them.
We are at the halfway stage of Round 2, and some of the bigger sides find themselves at a precarious place. Iran, Jordan and the UAE find themselves in third place, while Uzbekistan are in second spot, but well out of the best runners-up positions. China too, are teetering on the edge, and Lippi has reportedly resigned as well.