Crucial match-ups as Asian campaign passes halfway - ASIA
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| AFP |
A series of home teams enter matchday 6 with their sights fixed on clinching a second win within a week. Both Qatar and Jordan welcome their respective opponents seeking to consolidate their lead with three points, while the likes of Singapore and Turkmenistan will look to the home support to claim back-to-back victories.
Having being held to stalemates at home in the last outings, Korea DPR, Oman and Vietnam won't likely let slip the opportunity to prove themselves in front of their faithful. Syria and Kuwait, meanwhile, must put defeats behind them as they seek to bounce back at home.
The match
Vietnam-Thailand
No southeast Asian teams have reached the continent's final qualifying round since Thailand during the Korea/Japan 2002 campaign. But with favourites Iraq under-performing and Indonesia excluded, Thailand and Vietnam are hopeful of becoming the region's first team to progress to the decisive stage from a tricky group which also features Chinese Taipei. Both sides, indeed, enter the re-meeting boasting impressive form. The visiting Thais have been undefeated in all competitions since a 1-0 friendly loss to Korea DPR in May, including edging Hong Kong 1-0 in a recent warm-up. Hosts Vietnam, meanwhile, followed up their 2-1 victory in Chinese Taipei by stunning the Iraqis with a 1-1 draw in the last qualifying outing.
Motivation is evident in both camps considering the significance of the showdown. The War Elephants head to Hanoi seeking to strengthen their lead with an away victory, while the Golden Stars are aware that they can leapfrog Iraq and move level with the Thais with three points. Thailand boasts a dominant head-to-head record with 13 wins from 19 previous meetings, notably claiming the first encounter 1-0. The two nations also share a rich history of rivalry in the AFF Suzuki Cup. The visitors will look to captain Theerathon Bunmathan and marksman Teerasil Dangda, while the home side can count on the goal-scoring form by Le Cong Vinh who famously scored the decisive goal against Thailand which sealed their maiden regional title back in 2008.
The number
1,000,000 - AFC has reached a major milestone, as stadium attendance numbers for the FIFA World Cup 2018 and AFC Asian Cup 2019 joint qualifiers have exceeded the one million mark. The total attendance for all stages of the qualifying competition, across the 88 fixtures played, has reached 1,166,971.
The other attractions
In Group A, a pair of strugglers take centre stage with runaway leaders Saudi Arabia seeing their away match against Palestine postponed. Both hosts Timor Leste and Malaysia enter the game still seeking their first win in order to keep their diminishing hopes alive. It is a different story in Group B, though, with front-runners Jordan keen on strengthening their lead with a second home win within five days against Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, welcome Bangladesh knowing that they can reduce the gap on second-placed Australia to a point should they win.
Group C pace-setters Qatar entertain Maldives hoping to maintain their unblemished record in this campaign and extend their cushion at the summit to eight points. Having saved their blushes with a stoppage-time winner in the first leg, Daniel Carreno's hosts enter the return seeking to prove themselves in front of their home supporters. The Qataris' hopes will be significantly bolstered with playmaker Khalfan Ibrahim's return from injury. Hong Kong, meanwhile, travel to Bhutan aware that a victory can strengthen their hold on second place ahead of China PR.
With joint leaders Iran receiving a bye, Group D’s Oman play hosts to pointless India knowing they can move clear of Team Melli with three points. The visitors will, for their part, have to race against time in pre-match preparation having arrived in Muscat only on Sunday following a 40-hour delay due to bad weather conditions. In the other game, Guam will hope to move into the top two by pulling off an away win in Turkmenistan.
With leaders Japan not playing, Group E's Syria and Singapore won't let the opportunity slip away to move into the top place. Despite losing 3-0 to the Japanese, the Syrians entertain Afghanistan determined to seal their return to the section summit with an emphatic home triumph. The same can be said of Singapore, who can move level with Japan on points should they defeat Cambodia at home.
In Group G, Lebanon travel to Kuwait with revenge on their minds, having lost the first leg at home 1-0. A victory in Kuwait City will move them level with the hosts on points and re-ignite their hopes of competing for second place behind leaders Korea Republic. The other match pits Myanmar against Laos with both sides desperately seeking to move off the bottom with a victory.
Elsewhere, in Group H, leaders Korea DPR welcome Yemen expecting to bounce back to winning form having been held to a goalless draw by Philippines in the last outing. The latter, meanwhile, arrive in Bahrain hoping to spring another surprise against the west Asians.
Player to watch
Thailand captain Theerathon Bunmathan's form will likely be key if they are to come out on top against nemesis Vietnam. Despite nursing a heel injury in August, the Buriram United defender quickly recovered to the relief of their faithful. He was instrumental in their 2-2 draw against Iraq, notably pulling one back with a late penalty which set his side on the road to a remarkable comeback. Besides providing leadership and shoring up the back-line, he is capable of changing a match through his set-piece delivery.
Do you know?
India, Bhutan, Yemen, India, Cambodia and Chinese Taipei are left still searching for their first point at the halfway mark.
What they said
"We have built a five-point cushion at the top of our group but it is still too early to speak about progression. For us, the focus at the moment is the next match against Maldives. We earned a hard-fought win in the opening game so we can't take them lightly," Qatar coach Daniel Carreno
Matchday 6 fixtures:
13 October
Group A: Timor Leste-Malaysia, Palestine-Saudi Arabia (postponed)
Group B: Kyrgyzstan-Bangladesh, Jordan-Tajikistan
Group C: Bhutan-Hong Kong, Qatar-Maldives
Group D: Turkmenistan-Guam, Oman-India
Group E: Singapore-Cambodia, Syria-Afghanistan
Group F: Vietnam-Thailand
Group G: Myanmar-Laos, Kuwait-Lebanon
Group H: Korea DPR-Yemen, Bahrain-Philippines