Do I see right that this time North Korea (finally) hasn't been even inserted? (They completely warped the qualifiers for the latest AFC Asian Cup).
Well, one of two things will happen: 1. They do enter, but since they're currently NR then they might be placed in Pot 4 (unless AFC does something weird), definitely warping the group they get placed in 2. They withdraw at some point before the tournament, making one of the four groups only three teams (unless it's early enough for AFC to fill the hole), also kinda warping things Just blecch all around
The latest withdrawals were kind of last minute. They probably thought it was too late to do a redraw with most teams already having bought plane tickets and made hotel reservations and the hosting countries having made their preparations already for their group competitions. I am kind of sad for SAFF Women's Champion Bangladesh. They have been playing well the past few years and I was looking forward to seeing them compete against the likes of Myanmar and Iran.
AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying phase 1@raffacarolina @DiarioFFeminino @dnllopes0 @JoseRomanh93 @Karri_Kemyst @GolazodelGringo Result Group D Singapore 🇸🇬 0–6 Thailand 🇹🇭Orapin Waenngoen 7'Pluemjai Sontisawat 21' 65'Saowalak Pengngam 57' 77'Jeeratanapavibul Panittha 87' pic.twitter.com/0CjGyqzYWv— Wosoworld (@karlyboy71) April 1, 2023
April 5 matches FT (Group B) Iran 1-0 Myanmar (Group A) Jordan 3-1 Timor-Leste (Group E) Philippines 4-0 Pakistan (Group F) Lebanon 1-5 Chinese Taipei (Group A) Uzbekistan 9-0 Bhutan (Group C) Nepal 1-5 Vietnam (Group E) Hong Kong 3-0 Tajikistan
UEFA have published the rankings so the following teams can qualify: England, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark,Italy, Belgium, Austria, Iceland,Switzerland, Portugal. France already through, Russia banned, Wales and Scotland cannot qualify as England will be the team trying to qualify Team GB.
N Korea does the same thing in other sports as well like in the annual IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships for instance where they keep on getting relegated after withdrawing at each level and are now in Div IIIB which is way too low a level for them if they decide to participate next year.
April 7 Thailand 5-0 Mongolia India 4-0 Krygyztan Both Thailand and India advances in their 2 team groups after 2 matches to the 2nd round.
Women's Olympic Football Tournament Asian Qualifiers Round 1 Score Update - April 8, 2023 FT (Grp B) Myanmar 1-1 IR Iran (Aggregate: 1-2) (Grp A) Bhutan 2-1 Jordan (Grp E) Pakistan 0-2 Hong Kong (Grp F) Indonesia 0-5 Lebanon (Grp A) Timor-Leste 0-3 Uzbekistan (Grp C) Vietnam 2-0 Nepal (Aggregate: 7-1) HT (Grp E) Tajikistan 0-6 Philippines Upsets galore as Iran advances ahead of higher ranked Myanmar and tiny Bhutan upsetting Jordan 2-1. Iran and Vietnam advances to the 2nd round after 2 matches against Myanmar and Nepal.
Qualified Teams for Round 2 of AFC Olympic Women's Qualifying Australia Japan China PR Korea Republic DPR Korea IR Iran (Round 1 Group B Winner) Vietnam (Round 1 Group C Winner) Thailand (Round 1 Group D Winner) India (Round 1 Group G Winner) The remaining three slots will be determined on Tuesday, April 11, on the final matchday.
Feel bad for Jordan; they've been carrying their region for a while as the "next team up", but now that the big tournaments have finally expanded, they've been pipped at the last second in regional qualification for the recent Asian Cup and this OG qualifying tourney.
I doubt that Jordan would have been able to get past Uzbekistan in their group anyways so the result didn't really matter in terms of advancing to the 2nd round. Still it is sad to see Jordan getting upset by one of the lowest ranked nations in the FIFA rankings at #178 in actual competition.
HK didn't even have a shot on goal against the Philippines the whole match tonight losing 0-4 to the Philippines. Statistically it was total domination offensively, in terms of possession as well as on defence for the Philippines. Iran did indeed spring a surprise by topping their group but Jordan ended the tournament with a whimper finishing in 3rd place ahead of only Timor Leste and losing to #178 ranked Bhutan 1-2.
The Asian Qualifiers Round 2 lineup is now complete: Australia China PR Chinese Taipei (Round 1 Group F Winner) DPR Korea India (Round 1 Group G Winner) IR Iran (Round 1 Group B Winner) Japan Korea Republic Philippines (Round 1 Group E Winner) Thailand (Round 1 Group D Winner) Uzbekistan (Round 1 Group A Winner) Vietnam (Round 1 Group C Winner) Round 2 is scheduled to be held in October 2023. The twelve teams will be divided into three groups of four teams. Matches will be played in centralized venues. The three group winners and the best ranked runner-up will advance to the Final Round. Hopefully N Korea doesn't withdraw again after the draw or maybe they should withdraw since they shouldn't really be in pot 4 in this draw as a NR team.
So long as PRK isn't drawn into the same group as KOR, then the draw won't be *too* bad, at least in terms of the final result... We know that only the top 5 teams have a shot at the two Olympic spots, and at least one of them won't make the third round anyway. But comparable groups are always the goal, and having three of the top five in the same group is about as uneven as you can get.
North Korea will withdraw at the last minute. Their FA has no money. Korea DPK men's team played last match in June 2021. It's very doubtful their FA will suddenly start to fund their women team. Besides there is also question of compliance with WADA - dunno if they squared this away?
Haven't they actually had an instance or two in the past where they favored the women's team over the men's because the women were more likely to succeed?
Perhaps... but in the past teams like Vietnam, Philippines or Uzbekistan didn't pose much threat. 4 years on the sidelines for all of Korea DPK women's football... I just wonder what the level of their WNT is now? Are they even competitive against FIFA top 30?
The runner up in Grp B will be at a disadvantage in terms of goal differential. It is possible that DPR Korea will withdraw again though. If North Korean withdraws again though, the AFC will probably not count the results of the last team in the other groups when determining the best 2nd placed team in the group for the third round.