I think one factor was that he may have felt that he had gotten maximum possible results from this playing group in the past and wasn't able to continue in that success. I thought he had done a pretty good job with the players available. No one (me included) expected this group to do so well at the last world cup so I have to give credit to the coaching staff and the efforts of the players in achieving what they did. Hopefully Popovic can also get good results from the group. We need 4 points from this window to get back on track and that will be a very tough ask.
Predictions for matchday 3 Australia 4-0 China Jordan 0-1 South Korea Uzbekistan 1-1 Iran Bahrain 1-2 Indonesia Oman 1-0 Kuwait Qatar 2-0 Kyrgyzstan UAE 0-0 North Korea Iraq 2-1 Palestine Saudi Arabia 0-3 Japan
Maxwell was a bit too late I published a tweet about Indonesia's success two days before he uploaded his video. Feel free to check it out if you have a Twitter account. 🧵THREAD🇮🇩Indonesia's rise is at the moment the most thrilling story in ⚽🌐 intl' footballBecause of the constant new additions of origine players their squad has evolved and gained decent quality👇#TimnasIndonesia #KitaGaruda#GarudaMendunia#TimnasDay#AsianQualifiers— International Football Guru SK ⚽🇩🇪🗺️ (@sk_football1907) October 7, 2024
Back in my hotel room after the 3-1 win over China. A new coach, a new structure and some teething problems with it. Our latest 18yo wonderkid looked lost in this setup and was replaced at half time. Second half was better but unless Japan have a really bad day Tuesday I suspect we are going to suffer a significant defeat.
Congrats on getting most predictions right so far , except for that Bahrain v Indonesia draw (A very typical AFC officiating ).
Woke up this morning and surprised to see that we are temporarily in second place. While I don’t see this continuing for long the one point currently separating second and fifth suggests there may be quite a contest for second third and fourth in group c. Japan is currently way ahead.
Pulling for Australia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to get those spots. They're the teams with the most upside of that group outside Japan.
I can't believe the ref kept adding time to enable bahrain to score an offside equalizer against Indonesia.
I rewatched the stoppage time during that Bahrain-Indonesia match and honestly can't understand why the referee didn't blow the whistle sooner. There were absolutely no stoppages during the 6 minute period of added time that was announced by the fourth official. There was a pretty lengthy VAR check for a possible infringement in the Indonesian box, but even that happened in the 98th minute. If the match had ended 2-1, Indonesia would now be occupying second spot after three matches. For once, I'm enjoying watching the usually toxic online Indonesian trolls working their magic.
8/9 correct Controversial last gasp equalizer by Bahrain against Indonesia resulted in the only wrong prediction.
Crazy to think how far Indonesian football has come... anyone remember what happened last time they played Bahrain in world cup qualifiers?
What's your prediction for Match Day 4? The Saudi Social Media is full of negative vibes against Manchini and asking for his early exit as coach of Saudi Arabia. Roberto Manchini got his players selection horribly wrong specially by not playing major rookie player Saleh Al Shehri from start who has nag of scoring goals when it matters most. He fielded out of form player AlMalki who doesn't even play regularly at the club and mostly does bench warming. He was the reason that Japan scored the 1st goal against Saudi Arabia since he was only ball watching and doing nothing like heading the ball away... Overall, Manchini is likely to see the exit doors if Saudi doesn't get maximum points from the game against Bahrain. Manchini is in trouble also because he's not brave enough to play with 2 forwards.
Unfortunately, I missed the Qatar v Kyrgyzstan game as I went away that weekend but got my ticket for Palestine v Kuwait in Doha. Some interesting bottom of the table clashes coming up on Tuesday in al 6 winless teams currently occupying the bottom 2 elimination places all playing each other. With this being the "phase of life" in the sense that only the bottom 2 are eliminated, these games have added meaning as a win could kickstart each teams tournament... Group A - Kyrgyzstan v North Korea: I predicted these to be the bottom 2 and that's where they are after 3 matches. North Korea have been anything but pushovers however taking points off of Qatar and UAE and missing penalties against the latter and Uzbekistan. A win for them here and they'll be right back in the mix. Kyrgyzstan will be looking for their first ever point(s) at this stage after 3 straight defeats. Group B - Palestine v Kuwait: Again, I predicted these 2 to get eliminated and don't see it going any other way tbh. Going to attend this match in Doha but not really expecting a lot with both teams only finding the back of the net once, and one of those was a penalty. Kuwait did get draws against Jordan and Iraq but came crashing down to earth against Oman over the weekend. I'm expecting a draw here but hope I'm wrong Group C - China v Indonesia: I also predicted these to be the bottom 2 but while China has been the disappointment of the tournament, Indonesia has been quite the revelation. Still no win for either teams, and I think this could be a huge game. A win for Indonesia would turn their fortune around and get propel them back in the qualification places. They need it though as for all their great work so far, they've got in form Japan next. China look like they have no hope atm but a win here and who knows...
Predictions Matchday 4 Japan 2-1 Australia South Korea 2-0 Iraq China 0-2 Indonesia Kyrgyzstan 1-2 North Korea Uzbekistan 2-1 UAE Iran 3-1 Qatar Jordan 1-0 Oman Palestine 1-1 Kuwait Saudi Arabia 0-0 Bahrain
Japan 1 Australia 1 Japan drops its first points and also concedes their first goal (an own goal) in WCQ for this tournament. Australia took the lead with an own goal and Japan equalised also with an own goal. Japan dominated the game with Australia on the back foot for most of the match. Japan stays well in front in the group and Australia gets a vital away point in one of the toughest away games. Looks like it will still be a tight struggle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th spots in this group.
Iran 4- 1 Qatar Defence is shaky, but crucial win. Getting 4 points from Uzbekistan (away) and Qatar is a good result. This should put Iran and Uzbekistan in the drivers seat for direct qualification, with Qatar and UAE trailing 6 points behind.
Wound up going to Palestine v Kuwait today in Doha. Didn't really make the final decision until the last minute but it was kind of a makeup for missing last weekends Qatar v Kyrgyzstan game. Glad I did as it wound up being quite an exciting game, 2 penalties, a red card, and then Palestine equalizing at the very death despite being down to 10 men. I do fear however that these will be the 2 teams eliminated from this group. The other 4 are just a different class. Very poor from Kuwait, unable to beat a 10-man Palestine on relatively tame neutral ground. I do hope that Palestine's next game is in Doha as it will be against South Korea.
How things stand Group A Results this window Uzbekistan 0 Iran 0 Qatar 3 Kyrgyzstan 1 UAE 1 Nth Korea 1 Uzbekistan 1 UAE 0 Kyrgyzstan 1 Nth Korea 0 Iran 4 Qatar 1 Table Iran 10 (+5) Uzbekistan 10 (*3) UAE 4 (0) Qatar 4 (-3) Kyrgyzstan 3 (-3) North Korea 2 (-2) Iran and Uzbekistan in strong position for the top 2 spots. UEA in the next window play Qatar and Kyrgyzstan and have the opportunity to stake a strong claim for 3rd place. Group B Jordan 0 Sth Korea 2 Oman 4 Kuwait 0 Iraq 1 Palestine 0 Sth Korea 3 Iraq 2 Jordan 4 Oman 0 Palestine 2 Kuwait 2 Sth Korea 10 (+5) Jordan 7 (+4) Iraq 7 (+1) Oman 3 (-3) Kuwait 3 (-4) Palestine 2 (-3) Sth Korea with a solid lead and an opportunity next window to cement that. Jordan visit Iraq next match day in what looks like a very important game. A gap is opening up in the middle of the group right now. Group C Australia 3 China 1 Bahrain 2 Indonesia 2 Saudi Arabia 0 Japan 2 Japan 1 Australia 1 China 2 Indonesia 1 Saudi Arabia 0 Bahrain 0 Japan 10 (+14) Australia 5 (+1) Saudi Arabia 5 (-1) Bahrain 5 (-4) Indonesia 3 (-1) China 3 (-9) Japan well in front and looking very strong. Australia recovers from its poor start to hold second by the very narrowest of margins. China gets its first points. No one is out of it at this stage as the bottom 5 are all within touching distance of each other. Before this group began most thought it would be a battle between Saudi Arabia and Australia to see who qualified with Japan. It may still turn out that way but at the moment everyone still has a chance to take second spot. Australia host Saudi Arabia and visit Bahrain next window and could either stake a strong claim for second or find themselves struggling for a top 4 spot (or something in between). The next window will be very interesting. We may see some teams emerge from the pack or the pack could stay as tight as it is now.
Some views on Japan Australia. Japan clearly dominated this game in every aspect but the scoreline. Australia's 3 at the back with wing backs being wing midfielders against China reverted to 5 at the back as Japan controlled possession and rarely gave Australia a chance to go forward. On an individual basis their players were generally a class above Australia. Australia did defend well and despite the dominance of Japan restricted the amount of clear scoring chances. Both teams conceded own goals from crosses, Australia's goal coming from a get the ball in before I lose it even though no one is there and Japan's coming from a good attack with a well directed cross that would likely have been a goal if the defender hadn't touched it first.. Japan pressed well and usually won the ball back shortly after losing it. On another day a similar pattern of play could easily have resulted in a 4-0 scoreline to Japan.
One thing I'll add from an Australian perspective. Usually we aren't very good at parking the bus by which I mean maintaining a strong defensive formation that makes it difficult to create chances. We normally don't have the discipline (or the inclination I think) to play like this for long periods of play as we usually get frustrated doing this and can't maintain the formation. Last night showed me we can park the bus quite effectively for long periods of time. Our 3-4-2-1 system against China converted quite quickly to 5-4-1 against Japan.
6/9 outcomes right making it a very good 14/18 outcomes right for me for this window. Nailed the Saudi Arabia - Bahrain result.
Depends on who is Saudi's coach. I expect Mancini to get the sack in the next couple hours or days. That could change the dynamics