Asian Qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup: Sprint and Drama

(Baonghean.vn) - 12 Asian teams are preparing for the 7th round of the race to find tickets to Russia for the 2018 World Cup.Can't be subjective because the race has only 4 rounds left.

Despite the rise of Asian football, teams such as Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and South Korea have shown that they are still in good form and regularly participate in World Cups. In his second time as coach of the Chinese national team, Marcello Lippi has achieved a miracle by defeating South Korea and Chinese audiences are hopeful that they will continue to do so against Iran.

Provisional rankings after 6 rounds. Photo: Internet

The Game of Iran, South Korea and Uzbekistan

In Group A, while the top teams suffered defeats, South Korea went empty-handed in China and Syria defeated Uzbekistan, making the race for 2 direct tickets to Russia and 1 play-off spot even more tense and exciting.

In that context, Iran took advantage of the opportunity to leave 2nd place South Korea 4 points behind. Coach Marcello Lippi and the Chinese team excellently defeated strong opponent South Korea 1-0 at home. Along with Uzbekistan, the team ranked 3rd, also unexpectedly suffered a 0-1 defeat at Syria's field, so they were stuck with 9 points, making Syria and China with 8 and 5 points revive hope.

This time, Marcello Lippi and his team must travel to the top team Iran with the mission of earning at least 1 point. If they lose, the opportunity is almost over for China, because South Korea and Uzbekistan at home only have to play against 2 weaker opponents, Syria and Qatar.

Coach Marcello Lippi has just done something "earth-shattering" but that was a home match, and this time when the element of surprise is no longer there, it will be difficult for China to do anything on away ground. In our opinion, the possibility of Iran, South Korea and Uzbekistan competing for 2 tickets to Russia will happen more, although China has had a rise after Marcello Lippi took charge of the last 2 matches.

Farewell Thailand

Japan and Saudi Arabia are proving to be too strong for the rest with 13 points each and 3 points behind Australia, the third-placed team. Especially when this round at home, Australia will have an extremely important match when meeting UAE, the team chasing right behind with 1 point less.

If any team loses, they will face many difficulties in the battle for the top 3 positions. Australia is in bad form after being held to draws by the bottom 2 teams Thailand and Iraq, but in this match, Australia is in a corner and playing at home, they know what they have to do.

Thailand is likely to say goodbye to its 2018 World Cup dream early. Photo: Internet

Obviously, at home, Japan and Saudi Arabia will be determined to take all 3 points against the two bottom opponents, Thailand and Iraq. Surely, this is the time for the Asian "giants" to speed up and win direct tickets to the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand is the "giant" of Southeast Asia, but when entering the continental arena, they suddenly became weaker than ever. It was not until the 5th match that coach Kiatisuk Senamuang and his team got their first point after a 2-2 draw with Australia.

This time, facing Japan, a team that Thailand lost to 0-4 in the first leg in Bangkok, not to mention that on the trip to Japan, Thailand was also without captain defender Theerathon Bunmathan due to suspension.

But no matter what force they field, coach Kiatisuk's team is still considered inferior to the host team Japan. If Japan gets 3 points, Thailand will be at risk of becoming the first team to be officially eliminated.

If Australia scores at home against UAE (highly likely), Thailand will be at least 10 points behind the top 3 teams, while there are only 3 rounds left after tonight's match on March 28. At that time, Kiatisuk and the Thais' 2018 World Cup dream will officially be over.

AT