September Review: Asia-Group 4

Standings



Game Results

Game 1-Australia def. Thailand 2-1 in Brisbane, Australia on September 2, 2011

• Australia Goals-Joshua Kennedy (58'), Alex Brosque (86')
• Thailand Goals-Teerasil Dangda (15')

Hear that whooshing sound? That's an entire nation breathing a sigh of relief. Despite dominating play, Australia found themselves in a hole early on and didn't manage a winner until the 86th minute on a goal from substitute midfielder Alex Brosque. No complaints for either team really. Australia controlled the game, and managed a pair of goals; it just so happened the scoreline was far closer then the game. For Thailand, they held strong defensively against a far superior opponent and had a real shot at emerging from this game with at least a draw,

Game 2-Saudi Arabia tied Oman 0-0 in Muscat, Oman on September 2, 2011

I pegged this game as a crucial one for both teams and one of the must-see games of the day. It ended up being a bit of a snoozer and one that solved absolutely nothing in terms of how this group will shake out. With both sides intent on preventing goals rather then scoring them, this game got bogged down in the midfield affording little in the way of offensive chances for either team. Disappointing by both teams as they'll need to actively seek out victories in such a tough group.

Game 3-Thailand def. Oman 3-0 in Bangkok, Thailand on September 6, 2011

• Thailand Goals-Sompong Soleb (35'), Teerasil Dangda (41')
• Oman Goals-Rashid Juma Al-Farsi (OG 90+1')

Couldn't have said it better myself 'lolwut pear'. I'm not necessarily surprised that Thailand won. I am surprised though by just how dominant they were in winning this game. Oman might as well have been sleepwalking in the first half, and were lucky to be down two going in to the break. Oman picked things up in the second half but could not manage a goal and completed the humiliation by scoring an own goal in injury time to give Thailand the 3-0 victory.

Game 4-Australia def. Saudi Arabia 3-1 in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on September 6th, 2011

• Australia Goals-Joshua Kennedy (40',56'), Luke Wilkshire (77')
• Saudi Arabia Goals-Nasser Al-Shamrani (65')

Really impressive. Doesn't matter who you are; winning on the road against Saudi Arabia is a tough chore and to win in convincing 3-1 fashion is impressive. Australia has had a lot of success since moving to the Asian confederation and this is another notch on that record. As for Saudi Arabia, they now find themselves tied for last place in the group. Something has to change for them quickly lest they face more games like this one.

Thoughts

Australia-Some people seem concerned by the Game 1 result. I wouldn't be. You aren't always going to get the scoreline you want and you have to look at balance of play as well. Australia has been in complete control in both games they've played so far and have 6 of 6 possible points to show for it. Great start and they should have no issues advancing.

Oman-The antithesis of Australia, they have all sorts of problems to deal with right now. After scoring 4 goals in 3 halves of play in Round 2, they are goalless through 2 Round 3 games with a pair of games against Australia on the schedule still. They need to not only regain their offensive stature but put forward the defensive effort they showed against Saudi Arabia and not the one that gave up 3 goals to Thailand. A difficult task and one that might be beyond the capabilities of this team.

Saudi Arabia-After 4 games in qualifying so far, I'm still not really sure what to expect out of Saudi Arabia. They handily dispatched Hong Kong in Round 2 which doesn't tell us much. Strong defensive effort against Oman in game 1 and the exact opposite in Game 2. This isn't a new problem for Saudi Arabia but it's one coach Frank Rijkaard is probably hoping they'll break soon. It's one thing to lack talent or ability to compete with top-level teams. But inconsistency is incredibly frustrating for fans and coaches (in any sport). Saudi Arabia = Inconsistent.

Thailand-One of (if not) the biggest surprises of September games. I thought this team was going to be blown out of the water in this group. And all they did was take Australia down to the wire and wipe the floor with Oman. I'm really impressed by what they were able to do in September. Key for them now is to keep things going. Lots of games remain in qualifying and with only 3 points, they're going to need more victories in order to advance. They showed in September though that they have a legitimate shot in this group.

Going Forward

Oman travels to Australia in October and that has to be the last thing they wanted to do at this juncture. Unless they can manage a 180 turnaround from what they did in September, they'll be facing a loss in Sydney, burying themselves at the bottom of this group.

Saudi Arabia travels to Thailand and what might have been considered an easy Saudi victory a month ago now has all sorts of implications on this group's standings. A Saudi win gets them back on track for the second half of this group. A Thai win and they'll find themselves 3 points closer to one of the greatest upsets in recent memory in World Cup qualifying.

Post-September Standing Predictions Revisited:

Prediction:

Australia: 4 pts
Oman: 4 pts
Saudi Arabia: 2 pts
Thailand: 0 pts

Actual:

Australia: 6 pts
Thailand: 3 pts
Saudi Arabia: 1 pts
Oman: 1 pts

Australia and Thailand better then expected; Oman worse. As for Saudi Arabia, never say you can't rely on a consistency of inconsistency. *Checks grammar and prose*, yup that made sense.