FIFA 2014 Asian Qualifiers: Familiar Asian foes in limelight

By FIFA Official Website

 

 

 

Asian Soccer Rivalries Take Center-Stage in FIFA 2014 Asian Qualifiers

 

SEOUL, South Korea (TheSportsNEXT) October 15, 2012: Old rivals meet again as Asia's final qualifying round for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ reaches the halfway mark on Tuesday. Notably, Iran entertain leaders Korea Republic in Group A's top-of-the-standing meeting, while in Group B Iraq and Australia resume their fast-developed rivalry in Doha, with both sides desperately seeking their opening win.

 

Elsewhere, Jordan arrives at Manama confident of prolonging their dominant head-to-head record against struggling Oman. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, travel to Qatar aiming to put their campaign back on track with three points. Join FIFA.com as we preview these enticing match-ups across the continent.

Final qualifying round, matchday 5 fixtures

16 October

Group A: Qatar-Uzbekistan, Iran-Korea Republic

Group B: Oman-Jordan, Iraq-Australia

The BIG match: Iran-Korea Republic

The game at Tehran represents one of Asia's greatest rivalries which has now spanned six decades, with the pair playing 25 matches, including five FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Although Korea Republic can boast two more wins, Iran have secured their share of crucial victories down the years.

A 1-1 draw in Seoul three years ago, which ended Team Melli's qualifying hopes for South Africa 2010, remains a painful memory for the Iranians. And new salt was rubbed into old wounds when the Koreans prevailed 1-0 over Iran during the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in their most recent meeting.

Revenge, though, will be on the hosts' minds. And Carlos Queiroz's side will be particularly motivated to bounce back, having been stunned 1-0 in Lebanon recently. To the Iranian fans' satisfaction, they have a full-strength line-up with the return of Fulham new acquisition Ashkan Dejagan, while Belgium-based striker Reza Ghoochannejhad is likely to reinforce the attacking-line in his international debut.

The visitors, meanwhile, have fixed their sights on making history with their first-ever win at the Azadi Stadium. Having dropped veteran striker Lee Donggook, coach Choi Kanghee has called up in-form Hamburg marksman Son Heungmin. At the back, Yun Sukyoung and Shin Kwanghoon are likely to shore up the defence alongside Kwak Taehwi, who will return as captain following the omission of Lee Jungsoo.

The other attractions

Any slip-up by Iran will be welcomed by Qatar, who can move into the section's top two with a home win over bottom side Uzbekistan. However, Paulo Autuori's hosts must push aside their lacklustre form which saw them draw 1-1 against firstly Oman, and then Jordan, during the build-up. Adding to their concerns, defender Ibrahim Majed will miss the game through suspension, while forward Yusef Ahmed remains a doubt with injury. Knowing that a win is important to their diminishing hopes, the visitors arrive in Doha hoping to emulate their feat of a 2-0 win in the continental finals last year. However, the Central Asians twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against United Arab Emirates in a recent friendly, adding to coach Mirdjalal Kasimov's concerns.

Level on two points each, Iraq and Australia meet in their fifth FIFA World Cup qualifying meeting, with both anxious to revive their fortunes with a first triumph. Despite conceding six unanswered goals against Brazil recently, the Iraqis remain one of the toughest rivals for the Socceroos on the Asian scene. To the pleasure of coach Zico, a series of key players including midfielder Samer Saeed and forward Mustafa Kareem are back from injury, although Karrar Jassim is sidelined for disciplinary reasons. Holger Osieck's visitors, for their part, arrived in Doha a week early to acclimatise. The Socceroos have Matthew Spiranovic set to replace the injured Sasa Ognenovski in central defence and midfielder Carl Valeri coming in for David Carney, while midfielder Mark Bresciano is likely to provide the decisive attacking spark.

Boosted by their 2-1 upset win over Australia, Jordan travels to Oman expecting to cement their runners-up place behind Japan with three points. And the visitors' confidence is not unfounded, with their record of nine wins to three providing them with a clear mental edge. Coach Adnan Hamad will be pleased to see the return of striking duo Abdullah Deeb and Tha'er Bawab, although they must make do without goalkeeper Amer Shafi and defender Basem Fathi through suspension. Facing a must-win, though, the hosts' hopes were dealt a blow by an injury to striking-ace Emad Al Hosni. With the Al Ahli marksman a doubt to start, coach Le Guen summoned striker Younis Almshfri to enhance their firepower.

Player to watch

Having been on target as Uzbekistan swept past Qatar in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup opener, two-time AFC Player of the Year Server Djeparov returns to Doha hoping to relive his heroics from last year.

The statistics

4 - A quartet of sides, namely Iraq, Australia, Oman and Uzbekistan enter matchday 5 still seeking their first win.

What they said

“The match against Uzbekistan will not be easy but we must defeat them. Only a victory can put us in the group's second position. We must take advantage of playing at home and I hope our fans will show up in big numbers to support us,” Qatar coach Paulo Autuori

Original Link: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1785333/index.html

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FIFA 2014 South America Qualifiers: Onus on Argentina, Ecuador

By FIFA Official Website

Can Lionel Messi repeat his heroics for Argentina?

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (TheSportsNEXT) October 15, 2012: Leaders Argentina and third-placed Ecuador both face away trips tomorrow as they look to consolidate their positions in the South America qualifying group for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. Second-placed Colombia sit out the latest round of games, while Uruguay and Chile, who host the Argentinians, are both anxious to improve their faltering form. At the other end of the table, meanwhile, Bolivia and Paraguay have no option but to start picking up points fast.

 

 

The big game: Chile vs Argentina

Tuesday 16 October, Estadio Nacional, Santiago, 20:05 (local time)

Chile and Argentina go into this game in very different frames of mind. Riding high at the top of the table, La Albiceleste are full of confidence after thumping Uruguay 3-0 win to extend their unbeaten run to six games. Lionel Messi has had a big hand in that purple patch and now has 30 international goals to his name, putting him fourth on Argentina’s list of all-time top scorers, just four behind Diego Maradona in third. Angel di Maria and Sergio Aguero have also been in fine form of late, though striker Gonzalo Higuain has a hip injury and is doubtful for the trip to the Chilean capital.

The picture is not quite so rosy for Claudio Borghi’s men, who lie fifth after going down to Ecuador in Quito last week. That 3-1 defeat that was followed by a frank exchange of views in the dressing room, which ended with the players promising to turn round a campaign that looked promising in June, after three straight wins, but has now hit the buffers. To make matters worse Arturo Vidal, Osvaldo Gonzalez and Pablo Contreras are all suspended, though the Chilean midfield will be bolstered by the return of the combative Gary Medel. His bite will be crucial to halting the in-form Argentinians, who thrashed the Chileans 4-1 in Buenos Aires in the opening game of the competition.

Elsewhere

Ecuador, who stand a point behind Argentina, are also on the road, with Venezuela their destination. Untouchable at their Quito stronghold, Reinaldo Rueda’s side have proved less impressive on their travels, losing two and drawing the other of their three away games to date. Sixth in the standings and aiming to pull up on the leaders, Venezuela should be full of running after enjoying a day off last Friday, and will be looking for yet more inspiration from Salomon Rondon. On the downside, Andres Tunez is out with injury.

Uruguay need to get back to winning ways fast after suffering defeats in two of their last three qualifying games, conceding eight goals in the process. La Celeste visit Bolivia tomorrow but will be without captain Diego Lugano, Diego Godin and Martin Caceres for what is a crucial game against a side just one point off the bottom of the table. The Bolivians have not given up hope of a place at Brazil 2014 yet, though as their Spanish coach Xabier Azkargorta acknowledged, they have a huge task ahead of them: “It’s tough, but there are 24 points left and we’ll be fighting for every one of them.”

Four-time FIFA World Cup finalists Paraguay are the side who lie below Bolivia and need a minor miracle if they are to get back into the qualification race. Beaten in their last five games, they entertain Peru with designs on avenging their 2-0 loss in Lima 12 months ago. The Peruvians fielded a reshuffled side in their 1-1 draw in Bolivia last week, and will be looking to striker Claudio Pizarro to spearhead their push for more valuable points in Asuncion.

Player to watch

Felipe Caicedo (Ecuador)

Frozen out of the national side since the 2011 Copa America, the Locomotive Moscow forward was given the chance to resume his international career by coach Reinaldo Rueda in September. The recall has proved an inspired decision, with Caicedo striking four goals in three qualifying matches, including a brace against Chile, and also earning praise for his positive attitude.

Did you know?

Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldinho were the inspirations behind the low free-kick that Lionel Messi fired under the Uruguay wall to seal Argentina’s 3-0 win in Mendoza on Friday. Speaking afterwards, Messi said he decided to take a leaf out of their book after seeing them score with similar strikes last week: “The keeper was standing still, and he knew I like to send the ball over the top. I guessed the wall was going to jump and so I decided to hit it low.” For the third time in a week, the tactic paid off.

What they said

“It’s been a tough week and this result hurts. It was a derby, we needed the three points, and we’re in a tight spot now. Every game will be a final for us, and our trip to the World Cup is in danger,” Uruguay captain Diego Lugano reacts to his side’s 3-0 defeat to Argentina last Friday.

Original Link: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1785408/index.html

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Spain, Germany, England shine in 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

By Steve Roberts

Lionel Messi finally silences his critics by scoring goals for Argentina

LONDON (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: World and European champion Spain romped to a 24th straight qualifying win on Friday, although no one in the country was able to see it.

 

Pedro Rodriguez scored a hat trick as the world's best team routed host Belarus 4-0 in one of a group of big wins for Europe's leading nations in 2014 World Cup qualifying.

Radamel Falcao

Yet, celebrations were muted in the debt-ridden country after no broadcaster paid to televise the national team's match for the first time in 29 years.

Spain's wasn't the most convincing win of the third round of regional qualifiers, with Germany handing Ireland its worst loss since 1971, 6-1 at Dublin.

Wayne Rooney celebrated being handed the temporary England captaincy by scoring twice in a routine 5-0 win over San Marino, taking his goal total in international matches to 31, fifth on the country's all-time list.

But Italy was again unconvincing in beating Armenia 3-1, and the Netherlands managed only a comfortable 3-0 win over Andorra, which is 201st in the rankings.

However, Euro 2012 semifinalist Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, couldn't make the most of its dominance against Russia and lost 1-0 in a match between the top two teams in Group F.

Cristiano Ronaldo keeps goal-scoring form

The Portuguese are three points behind Russia, which is unbeaten under new coach Fabio Capello and has three straight wins in qualifying.

Also, Belgium enhanced its burgeoning reputation as a growing force in Europe with a 3-0 win in Serbia, which lost a home World Cup qualifier for the first time in more than 10 years.

Sweden and the Czech Republic needed second-half rallies to avoid draws against weak competition, beating Faeroe Islands 2-1 and Malta 3-1, respectively.

The victory for the Swedes left them second in Group C, three points behind Germany ahead of their meeting in Berlin on Tuesday.

The third straight qualifying victory for Germany was launched by Marco Reus' goals in the 32nd and 40th minutes before Mesut Oezil's penalty kick and goals by Miroslav Klose and Toni Kroos (two) turned it into a rout.

Spain warmed up for its Group I match against France, which surprisingly lost 1-0 at home to Japan in a friendly on Friday, by stretching its winning run in qualifying that dates back to September 2007.

Pedro set up Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba for the opener before scoring the remaining three goals himself in Minsk, putting Spain ahead of France on goal difference. Both countries have six points and only one team qualifies automatically from each group.

Spain, seeking an unprecedented fourth straight major international tournament trophy, is enjoying a golden era in its soccer history, but that still didn't persuade broadcasters to pay for coverage.

Wayne Rooney

The blackout came after the producer, Sport Five, failed to reach a deal with any Spanish television channel. This was the first time a Spain match was not broadcast at home since 1983, when the team visited Malta.

Rooney was playing for England for the first time since Euro 2012 and was given the captain's role with Steven Gerrard suspended and Frank Lampard sidelined with injury. Rooney marked the occasion by joining Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck in scoring twice at Wembley Stadium.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also scored for the hosts, who moved to the top of Group H.

It wasn't such a good night for Oxlade-Chamberlain's Arsenal teammate, Theo Walcott, who will spend the night in a hospital after colliding with goalkeeper Aldo Junior Simoncini early in the game.

Russia's winner against Portugal came with its only shot on goal in the first half, Alexander Kerzhakov scoring in the sixth minute.

Ronaldo, who has scored six times in his last three Spanish league games for Real Madrid, barely had a sniff in Moscow.

''Maybe we weren't as calm as we usually are,'' said Portugal coach Paulo Bento, whose team is the only leading European nation not to be atop its group at this stage.

Eddie Johnson scored two goals for the United States, including the winner in second-half injury time, in a 2-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda. The road win put the Americans in position to advance to CONCACAF's final qualifying round if they draw with Guatemala on Tuesday night in Kansas City, Kan.

Guatemala beat Jamaica 2-1 on Friday night.

In Group B, Mexico was held scoreless for more than 75 minutes by Guyana, but wound up winning 5-0 to stay perfect. Costa Rica held onto second place in the group by winning 1-0 at El Salvador.

Canada beat undermanned Cuba 3-0 in Group C. The Cubans had only 11 players for the game, and finished with 10 after striker Roberto Linares was ejected for a challenge that crumpled captain Kevin McKenna. Four players left the team in Toronto.

In the other Group C game, Honduras and Panama tied 0-0.

In South American qualifying, host Argentina took the overall lead with 17 points as Lionel Messi scored two second-half goals and Sergio Aguero added another. Messi scored in the 66th and added another with a free kick in the 80th while Aguero scored in the 75th.

Alejandro Chumacero scored in the second half to lift host Bolivia into a 1-1 draw with Peru, while Colombia beat Paraguay 2-0.

Radamel Falcao scored two second-half goals as Colombia improved to 16 points in eight matches - among the leaders in qualifying - and left Paraguay with only four points from five matches, the worst record among the nine teams.

Felipe Caicedo scored twice as Ecuador defeated Chile 3-1 in Quito. Ecuador improved to 16 points, Chile has 12.

Read Original Article here: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/spain-germany-england-scoring-form-230658511--sow.html

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