Bahrain-100th (11th Asia)
Indonesia-137th (21st Asia)
Iran-54th (4th Asia)
Qatar-90th (7th Asia)
Schedule
September 2, 2011
- Indonesia at Iran
- Qatar at Bahrain
- Bahrain at Indonesia
- Iran at Qatar
- Bahrain at Iran
- Qatar at Indonesia
- Indonesia at Qatar
- Iran at Bahrain
- Bahrain at Qatar
- Iran at Indonesia
- Qatar at Iran
- Indonesia at Bahrain
Bahrain
- 2011 to date: 1-3-2
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 7-5-6
- vs. Group opponents: 14-14-17
- 2011 to date: 1-0-1
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 0-2-0
- vs. Group opponents: 3-7-4
- 2011 to date: 8-1-0
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 5-1-8
- vs. Group opponents: 17-7-6
- 2011 to date: 3-3-1
- 2010 WC Qualifying/Finals: 6-6-4
- vs. Group opponents: 14-20-15
Bahrain
A surprise near-finalist in 2010, Bahrain fell one game short, losing to New Zealand in the second leg of the inter-confederational playoff to be denied a birth in South Africa. Not to undercut the magnitude of how far they got in 2010 but Bahrain was the beneficiary of a favourable draw in that campaign. Once in Round 3, Bahrain was fortunate enough to draw Oman and Thailand, two of the weakest remaining teams at the time which gave them breathing room to advance. The same can be said in Round 4, where they drew Qatar and Uzbekistan, two of the few teams at that point in qualifying Bahrain could manage victories against. They grabbed 3rd place in their Round 4 group despite a losing record and got past Saudi Arabia in the AFC playoff on a pair of draws (away goals giving them the tiebreaker). Point I'm trying to make is that Bahrain is a very underwhelming opponent considering they received a bye to this stage. Having just 1 win in 6 games this year adds to that image. If they wish to return to the final stage of Asian qualifying, Bahrain needs to find the form that nearly put them in the 2010 finals. And quickly.
Indonesia
Of the 20 teams in Round 3, only Lebanon is ranked lower then Indonesia. Biggest detriment to Indonesia is their schedule. They don't play nearly as many games as other countries (only 2 in 2011-the Round 2 matches), and when they do it is typically against fellow SE Asian countries, none of which are world-beating nations. For a national team composed entirely of domestic club players, they do not challenge themselves enough to improve to a level where they can compete with the rest of the world. Unfortunately for Indonesia, they're going to learn that lesson the hard way in this group. Having narrowly defeated Turkmenistan to get here, they do not possess the depth, skill or coaching to compete with any of their group mates.
Iran
Another nation with a very proud soccer tradition although perhaps it isn't as warranted as a team like Saudi Arabia. 2 of their 3 Finals appearances have come since 1998 but they only have 1 victory in a Finals to show for it. A 3-time victor in the Asian Cup, they haven't finished higher then 3rd since 1976. Iranian fans do have a slight tendency to overstate the significance of their team. Nevertheless, there's reason for bravado as when they want to play, Iran is arguably the best team in Asia. Key words there: when they want to play. Iran has been plagued by a lack of focus and teamwork for a long time. Inability to close out games, lack of hustle on the field, sloppy tackling, an excessive number of cards, etc. Skill and talent are not the problems for Iran, it's about attitude. Tasked with keeping the Iranian team on track is former Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz. If Queiroz can keep the Iranian players focused on winning, they will be in the mix until the end of qualifying. If they get off-track, things could get ugly.
Qatar
I mentioned this in the qualifying breakdown but I'll say it again; Qatar is going to be the most interesting nation to watch in the next decade. Not just for 2014 qualifying but in all the games beyond until 2022 when they host the World Cup. Reason being is that based on their current world ranking, Qatar is slated to be the worst ranked host nation in World Cup history, an honour currently held by South Africa. No one wants to be embarrassed at home in a major tournament, so I anticipate Qatar to make huge strides forward in the years to come. Will it be enough in 2014? It's possible. 90th in the world, that still puts Qatar at 7th in the continent, within realistic reach of a qualifying spot. I don't think they're quite ready to make that leap though, as evidenced by a .500 record in 2011 which includes a 2-1 loss to Vietnam in their last game. Qatar will definitely be looking to get to Round 4 at a minimum though and neighbour Bahrain is the likely obstacle in accomplishing that.
September Games:
Game 1
Indonesia at Iran
September 2, 2011
Time: 11:30 am EDT
Location: Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran
Game 2
Qatar at Bahrain
September 2, 2011
Time: 1:00 pm EDT
Location: Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain
Game 3
Bahrain at Indonesia
September 6, 2011
Time: 8:00 am EDT
Location: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia
Game 4
Iran at Qatar
September 6, 2011
Time: 12:30 pm EDT
Location: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar
Iran gets a nice present to open qualifying with. I do feel they're on the right track with their 2011 results and a new coach. Even with a difficult road game against Qatar, I think they'll be coming out of this set of games with a pair of victories.
Which makes Qatar-Bahrain the must see matchup of this series. Not only are the teams almost equal in calibre, they are very close neighbours (est. distance between the two capitals=120 km). Only one of these teams is likely to move on and neither have been spectacular in 2011. If one of these two can raise their game enough to pull out a victory, they'll have the driver's seat towards a Round 4 berth. Slight advantage to Bahrain for playing at home and not having to worry about Iran immediately folllowing.
Post-September Standing Predictions:
Iran-6 pts
Bahrain-4 pts
Qatar-1 pts
Indonesia-0 pts
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