sandalsforgoalposts

Three match days have come and gone in the qualifiers and now we are in the midst of a 3 month hiatus; Asian World Cup qualifiers will resume in September. Until then we will leave you with a slightly different take on the match day round up series. This post will also double up as a review of the groups so far. You can find the second match day round up here.

Teymourian & Kasola vie for the ball- Iran Vs Qatar

Three out of the ten scheduled match days are done, and so we take stock with 30% of the football played. First, though, a quick run through of the match day 3 results.

The day’s big match and Asia’s glamour tie was the first to kick off, Australia hosting Asian champions Japan in Brisbane (a replay of the Asian Cup 2011 final). A packed stadium saw out a 1-1 draw that stood out as much for its refereeing blunders as it did for its football, Kurihara scoring for Japan & Wilkshire equalising for Australia, both teams had a man sent off and Australia’s home record continues; their last defeat at home came in 2009-over three years ago now. Group B’s second game saw Iraq and Oman play out a dire game of football to a 1-1 draw, the result left a lot to be desired for Iraqi football fans, Oman counting the game as away (played in Neutral Doha, the venue of Iraq’s “home”games) will be content with two points from two difficult games in a row. Group A had two matches, the first of which was a formality, South Korea putting 3 past underdogs Lebanon in Goyang. While the second game saw Iran entertain Qatar in Tehran, only not much entertainment took place and the game saw no goals.

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So match day 2 has come and gone & again we had four keenly contested matches in Asian World Cup Qualifying, with heavyweights South Korea and Australia both playing their first final round games for Brazil 2014 . For those that want to check out the match day 1 review click here, otherwise let’s get cracking.

Japan again kicked us off early again (UK time), against Adnan Hamad’s Jordan. Expectations were high at the Saitama stadium, and The Samurai Blue duly responded by providing a display of dominance rarely seen in world football. Jordan scarcely threatened and were 3-0 down and a man down within half an hour, with Japan adding the 4th 5 minutes later. The second half carried on in the same manner and when the FT whistle sounded, the scoreline read Japan 6-0 Jordan. Honda got his hat trick, cementing a solid return to the national team, Kagawa chipped in with a goal, Maeda & Kurihara providing the other goals.

 
Japan looking fearsome, albeit against limited opposition so far, regardless, Australia will have something to genuinely fear in their game in Brisbane this coming Tuesday.

Hasebe Congratulates Kagawa- Japan on the march

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