World Cup 2010

[chaminda_00]

AWTA on both counts. Could have done without both China and Iraq but I honest believe that a full strength Australian side is good enough to make it, and even a not-quite-full strength team should be able to win at home.

The coach situation is becoming a worry though - I thought we'd have it sorted by now, and what must it do to Arnie to just keep being strung along and having it made so clear to him that as soon as we find someone better he's gone. Not that I necessarily think he should be the Australian coach, but I don't think it's been handled as well as it could have been. We must have had reasons to turn down Neeskens - you don't often get someone with that kind of pedigree practically begging for the job - and I just hope those reasons were good ones.

The lack of first team experience was why they didn't offer him the job. They wanted a guy that has been the first team coach of side through a World Cup campaign. His only first team experience was with an average Dutch club. I would have taken the risk personally and still would.

 

[biased indian]

TBH, when I first saw Group 2 I thought you'd missed the "big" team and started from the second seed down. Then I realised you hadn't.

Weakest qualifying group ever?

if england loose always and greece win always what can uefa do..

i think greece had the best record in the euro 2008 qualifications rite ???

 

[Johnners]

Why the bitterness, Neil? We're hardly a threat to you (the pleasurable yet essentially meaningless friendly win a few years ago notwithstanding) so I wouldn't have thought it would matter.

And for all the bluster over our exit last year, how many genuinely knowledgable Australian football fans (it's not the oxymoron you might think it is!) actually thought we deserved to beat Italy? Very few, IMO.

AWTA

Still waiting on the coach, although it seems we may be getting closer with Verbeek, and Phil Troussier (can someone give me a bit of a background on him? Honestly never heard of him before..) being the likely candidates.

Would probs prefer Verbeek at this stage, as mentioned in that link, he has experience in Asian football. Oh and the fact that he's not French...

 

[Matteh]

'Known as the "White Witch Doctor" for his success with African club teams such as Asec Abidjan of the Côte d'Ivoire and the national teams of Nigeria, South Africa and Burkina Faso, Troussier is best known as a coach for his time spent with the Japanese national team.

Troussier coached Japanese national team from 1998 to 2002, winning the 2000 Asian Cup, placing second at the 2001 Confederations Cup and made the round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup. He also coached the Japanese team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney to a fifth-place finish and 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up.'

 

[Johnners]

Thanks for that, seems he also has a fair bit of experience & success in Asian football. Still, he's French.

 

[roseboy64]

Guy's got the track record though.

 

[Johnners]

Indeed he has, and at this stage it seems as though he's the favourite to get the gig. Only stumbling so far is that he wants to handpick his staff, which imo shouldn't be that big an issue, if he's good (which i'm led to beleive he is..) let him do it.

 

[roseboy64]

In other news Jamaica has re-signed Rene Simoes who guided us to the 1998 World Cup. He just got Coritiba into the Brazil topflight but chose to come here instead of continuing with them. Itstl. The new administration for football is the same one that hired him back in 1994 with some new faces after they fired the last administration's coach Velibor Milutinovic. NOt all for it be he can't do any worse.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Bump

First qualifying sessions for Asia & CONCACAF underway.

Today's games (in GMT)
08.30, Melbourne, grp 1: Australia 3-0 Qatar (demolished in first half)
10.20, Saitama, grp 2: Japan 4-1 Thailand (Japan rallied after being pegged back immediately after gaining the early lead)
11.00, Seoul, grp 3: South Korea 4-0 Turkmenistan (Korea affirm their favourite status)
11.30, Teheran, grp 5: Iran 0-0 Syria (disappointing start for Iran in one of the easier groups IMO - even though the FIFA rankings claim otherwise)
12.30, Dubai, grp 1: Iraq 1-1 China (Iraq had Akram sent off and Mahmoud injured, had a goal dubiously disallowed, yet got a cheap penalty for their goal)
14.30, Muscat, grp 2: Oman 0-1 Bahrain (group pretty much sewn up already, winners today go through)
15.00, Amman, grp 3: Jordan 0-1 North Korea (the North Koreans keep beating weaker sides, which should be enough to head through from this group)
15.15, Abu Dhabi, grp 5: UAE 2-0 Kuwait (easy victory for the Emirates, who have floundered in recent times)
16.00, Beirut, grp 4: Lebanon 0-1 Uzbekistan (early goal sealed the winner for the favourites)
17.15, Riyadh, grp 4: Saudi Arabia 2-0 Singapore (early lead, probably never threatened)
---
21.00, Guatemala City (neutral ground): Belize 3-1 St Kitts and Nevis
21.00, Diriamba: Nicaragua 0-1 Netherlands Antilles
23.00, Roseau: Dominica 1-1 Barbados
00.00, Oranjestad: Aruba 0-3 Antigua & Barbuda
00.45, Providenciales: Turks & Caicos 2-1 St Lucia
01.30, San Salvador: El Salvador 12-0 Anguilla (the expected rout)

Next round of matches: March 26.

 

[andruid]

If Kenya cans survive the entire qualifying campaign without landing a FIFA ban or suspension anywhere along the line I will be relieved.

 

[headhunter]

Giovanni Trapattoni named new manager of the Rep.of Ireland today.
Pleased enough with the new gaffer considering some of the names mentioned.

 

[Johnners]

Couldn't have asked for a better start really. The next match in China will be a big test though, and it'll be interesting to see if Verbeek can call upon the same number of our European players this time around, or if more A-League players will be needed.

 

[sledger]

I find it funny, that England pick an old experienced Italian manager....and Ireland do the same just a few weeks later...

 

[michfan2123]

I am hoping to make the journey to South Africa in 2010.

I like the squad the US is currently fielding. Hopefully we can be a threat in 2010.

 

[DJellett]

Macedonia (aka: Pandev +10) in a group that gives us at least half a chance of going through...i wish.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

06.00, Kunming, grp 1: China 0-0 Australia (Aussie keeper saved a penalty...typical.)
10.00, Tashkent, grp 4: Uzbekistan 3-0 Saudi Arabia (demolition. Good for Saudi Arabia the rest of their group is so poor)
11.00, Shanghai (neutral), grp 3: North Korea 0-0 South Korea (settled for the honourable draw)
11.30, Singapore, grp 4: Singapore 2-0 Lebanon (The imported Singapore side gets its first win. Neither side has it in them to chase the top sides)
11.30, Bangkok, grp 2: Thailand 0-1 Oman (early away goal - Thailand heading out)
12.00, Ashkhabad, grp 3: Turkmenistan 0-2 Jordan (but Jordan have already dropped points at home)
12.30, Damascus, grp 5: Syria 1-1 United Arab Emirates (second-half equaliser gives UAE the lead in the group)
14.10, Riffa, grp 2: Bahrain 1-0 Japan (Japan dropping points, but this was the trickiest game in the group)
14.30, Doha, grp 1: Qatar 2-0 Iraq (Iraq heading out after sacking their coach - Qatar head into second place)
16.45, Kuwait City, grp 5: Kuwait 2-2 Iran (second point drop for Iran - ahead of Syria on scored goals)
---
2nd leg, CONCACAF:
19.00, Vieux Fort: St Lucia 2-0 Turks and Caicos (early goal meant Saint Lucia were through on away goals, sealed it seven minutes from time. Saint Lucia face Guatemala.)
19.00, St George's: Grenada 7-0 US Virgin Islands (one-leg tie. Grenada go through and play Costa Rica)
19.00, Kensington Oval: Barbados 1-0 Dominica (Stanford earns Barbados a glamour tie with the USA)
20.00, Nassau: Bahamas 1-1 British Virgin Islands
20.15, ARG: Antigua and Barbuda 1-0 Aruba (victory confirmed)
22.00, Tunapuna (neutral): Montserrat 1-7 Suriname (one-leg tie, ran away in the second half against the world's worst. Playing neighbours Guyana next)
23.00, Basseterre: St Kitts and Nevis 1-1 Belize (Belize qualify for elimination to Mexico)
00.00, Bayamon: Puerto Rico 1-0 aet Dominican Republic (one-leg tie, weak display by Puerto Rico ahead of the clash with Honduras)
00.00, Washington DC (neutral): Anguilla 0-4 El Salvador (16-0 overall - El Salvador go forth to meet Panama)
00.00, Willemstad: Netherlands Antilles 2-0 Nicaragua (the Netherlands Antilles waltz on, now face Haiti)

Two matches on March 30 will conclude this stage in CONCACAF.

 

[chaminda_00]

Go Qatar

 

[chaminda_00]

Qatar (2) - Iraq (0)



Australia 4 pts
Qatar 3 pts
China 2 pts
Iraq 1 pt

 

[Burgey]

Yep. Very, very handy result that.

Based on what I saw of China, if we get a close to full strength squad vs them at home, we should (should!) get 3 points there.

 

[Craig]

I would be very concerned for the fate of the North Korean team had they lost to South Korea.