September Review: Asia-Group 1

Standings



Game Results

Game 1-China def. Singapore 2-1 in Kunming, China on September 2, 2011

• China Goals-Zheng Zhi (69'), Hai Yu (73')
• Singapore Goals-Aleksandar Duric (33')

A wake up call for the Chinese team if ever there was one. Opening against the lowest-ranked team in the group at home. China was behind with just 20 minutes to play before Zheng Zhi converted a penalty kick. China has to take better advantage of scoring opportunities that present themselves. Prior to Zheng's goal, China missed a penalty kick and found 2 goalposts. Convert 1 or 2 of those chances and they're running away with this game rather then scrambling to find a victory.

Game 2-Jordan def. Iraq 2-0 in Arbil, Iraq on September 2, 2011

• Jordan Goals-Hassan Abdel Fattah (43'), Abdullah Deeb (47')

Pre-September odds suggested only one of these teams would advance in Group 1. I stand by that at this point and Jordan did a great job of grabbing 3 points on the road against Iraq, sending themselves on the road to first place in the group. Jordan dominated this game from start to finish and was rewarded with a pair of goals on either side of the halftime whistle.

Game 3-Iraq def. Singapore 2-0 in Jalan Besar, Singapore on September 6, 2011

• Iraq Goals-Alaa Abdul-Zahra (49'), Younis Mahmoud (86')

Cross-continent travel with a quick turnaround can be deadly in international soccer but Iraq passed this test with flying colours, posting a 2-0 victory in a game where the scoreline could easily have been larger. It's tough to rebound from a big loss and come back to face a tough opponent in a few days but Iraq handled Singapore with little trouble to keep up with the other top teams in the group.

Game 4-Jordan def. China 2-1 in Amman, Jordan on September 6, 2011

• Jordan Goals-Baha'a Abdul-Rahman (49'), Amer Deeb (55')
• China Goals-Hao Junmin (57')

I made a point of mentioning it in their first game because it becomes more apparent now. China needs to work on finding a finishing touch. China was the better team on the field in Amman yesterday, as they were in Kunming last week, but all they have to show for that are 3 points and a +0 goal differential. Jordan can score; we saw that last round when they put up 9 on Nepal in a game. China has to be able to match that output and with the amount of chances they had, 1 goal just isn't going to cut it.

Thoughts

China-Put the ball in the net and you'll be fine. It's that simple. They came in to this group as the top-ranked team and I believe they still are. But you have to show on the field that you are the best team and the ultimate measuring stick of that is getting more goals then your opponent. I think they'll be fine as long as they can recover their scoring touch in the near future.

Iraq-Not what they would have hoped for in the Jordan game but they can take solace in a very positive performance against Singapore, and in newly appointed coach Zico. Zico was appointed right before games started and hasn't really had an opportunity to work with his new team yet. Iraq will only get better under his tutelage and I doubt we'll see many more lapses at home like they showed against Jordan.

Jordan-Every qualifying campaign, teams come out of nowhere to shock everyone (Gabon comes to mind in 2010 qualifying). Jordan is putting itself in position to be that team this time around. One of just 2 teams in Asia with 6 points after 2 games (Australia the other), Jordan is firmly on top of Group 1 standings. More incredible; they've accomplished this without having played 4th-place Singapore yet. Obviously, they can't suffer a lapse at this point but if they continue the streak of play they showed in September, a berth in Round 4 seems a given for Jordan.

Singapore-Full credit to Singapore for their fight and tenacity; they had China on the ropes in Kunming before fate caught up to them. A more disappointing display against Iraq at home though as they never challenged the visitors and could muster little offence. Finding wins was always going to be a challenge for Singapore and with 2 games against Jordan as well as a home game against China left, they appear to be longshots to advance right now.

Going Forward

Only one October matchday for the AFC and it falls on October 11, 2011. Jordan will play at Singapore while Iraq will play at China. Barring a major upset, Jordan should walk out of Singapore with 3 more points which makes China-Iraq the premier game for this group. A win for either team would put them 3 points clear of the other for second place halfway through the group. China will have the home advantage in that game although they'll need to resolve their scoring woes prior to it. Zico will have had time to prepare his team as much as is necessary prior to that game and it should be a fascinating one.

Post-September Standing Predictions Revisited:

Prediction:

China-4 pts
Iraq-4 pts
Jordan-2 pts
Singapore-0 pts

Actual:

Jordan-6 pts
China-3 pts
Iraq-3 pts
Singapore-0 pts

Didn't foresee Jordan being as strong as they were. Figured both their games would be draws so kudos to the Jordanian players for pulling out wins in both games. Singapore with a firm grasp on the back of the group as expected.