Silent Lonesome Man

Already we have seen how the situation played out, already two teams have booked places in Qatar, and there shall be a potential third, fourth and maybe a fifth to qualify. Group A Lebanon vs Syria Lebanon 's 1-1 draw to Iraq in Sidon had effectively crippled the Lebanese from dreaming further for the World Cup, as their distance with the UAE is now just a win. However, Lebanon can still think about it, in case the Lebanese can ever obtain wins in the next two games while the UAE fail against Iraq and South Korea. This is possible for the first task, as the upcoming opponent for Lebanon is Syria , a team that has been, alongside Iraq, winless after eight games. This is the chance for Lebanon to gain their first-ever home win, already been beaten painfully by Iran, South Korea, the UAE before only won a point after facing Iraq. While the H2H is not totally favourable, with just five wins out of 24 meetings, the Lebanese have been undefeated against Syria since 2013 (3W, 1D). With Vi...

Putin's inhuman invasion of Ukraine on 23 February, already reinforced by an ultranationalist, denialist speech of Ukraine's existence, which shocked the world. This, in turn, has led to widespread public comparison of Putin to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, and Putin's invasion of Ukraine is much similar to Hitler's war on Poland, a war which the Soviets would join and foment the aggression that inflamed WWII. The comparison is not wrong, because Putin is a mad megalomaniac tyrant who is obsessed with neo-imperialist agenda. But Putin being compared to Hitler would make it so incredibly flawed. For all the crimes the Russian dictator did to Ukrainians, as well as Chechens, Georgians and Syrians, it is Putin's pre-war tactics that may draw us more to concern about. In this phase, it will take us to think a different figure that may qualify to Putin: the Japanese fascist leader Hideki Tojo . Hideki Tojo, who was he? Born near the New Year's Eve 1885 (30 December...

On 1 July 1931, tensions occurred over irrigation dam ditched between Korean and Chinese farmers in the village of Wanpaoshan near the border of Korea. At that time, Korea was part of Japan, therefore the Korean farmers were seen as subjects of Tokyo, so the Japanese dispatched its police alongside the Chinese counterparts. However, before the dispute could be solved, Chinese farmers had rebelled and drove the Koreans away, only to be dispersed by Japanese police. The Japanese took advantage of the dispute and sensationalised the problem into a massive nationalist discourse days later. This led to widespread anti-Chinese unrest across Japanese Korea and it was believed that the Japanese tacitly relaxing its hand for the Korean rioters so they could kill Chinese in there. The worst occurred in Pyongyang - the future capital of utopian North Korea - where more than a thousand casualties, both killed and injured. In response, massive unrest broke out in Manchuria against ethnic Koreans, ...

The February stage of the qualification in Asia has already witnessed teams that qualified, and teams that won't. How would it play out, though, is still on the hand. Group A Iran vs United Arab Emirates The 1-0 win in Tehran over arch-rival Iraq means Iran has officially become the first team in Asia to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, a complete turn around from the earlier troubles of the second round. Such remarkable turn around ensures Iran as the most powerful national team in Asia and a signal for any opponent to not underestimate the Iranian resolute. This is best seen with Iran's ability to deliver goals in necessary moments, as well as having an extremely capable defence since the arrival of Croatian  Dragan Skočić, conceding just three goals in process. Although Iran's World Cup record is anything but rosy, having never progressed beyond the group stage, the Iranians would try to obliterate its opponents to celebrate the revival of its fortune. This makes the...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FIFA had made a radical change, allowing nations to schedule games in January and February 2022, and this could be very necessary to speed up the upcoming World Cup qualification. Asia, in particular, has some benefits from such a schedule, but, how far will it go? Let's move by groups. Group A Iran vs Iraq Iran 's surprising resurgence in the third round, which Iran u-turned its second round misery, has really put the Group A into a closer conclusion that Iran will be able to achieve a place in Qatar. Although scepticism remains high throughout Iran's real quality when it comes to the World Cup, having never survived the group stage before, but right now, Iranians could focus to an early celebration. Contrast to Iran, its neighbouring rival Iraq has been unable to demonstrate the same form it used to be in the second round, being winless after six matches, including two heavy defeats to powerhouses Iran and South Korea earlier (both 0-3). To ...

Matchday 6 will mark the begin of the reserve fixtures, and there shall be no room for any mistakes. Several teams have begun to feel more and more wrath, while some are looking for a place in Qatar. Group A Lebanon vs United Arab Emirates A heart breaking late goal from Ahmad Nourollahi saw Lebanon fell from grace to a devastating home defeat, as Nourollahi was one of the two authors of Iran's injury time goals. Lebanon can still dream big though, as Lebanon has five points after five games, with a win and two draws as inspirations, something which is unthinkable given Lebanon's low status in Asian football stage. By contrast, the United Arab Emirates has left nothing but disappointments, with a loss to South Korea away extended its lacklustre in this stage with only three points from three draws. More worryingly, Bert van Marwijk's boys has failed to keep clean sheet in four consecutive games in this stage of the qualification. The UAE can still rally on the historical ...

A not-so-fond home return. Yes, I think we all know what does it mean. In November, a number of these teams will have homecomings, though with mixed feelings, except Iraq and Syria due to internal reasons. Australia bids a homecoming with a lot of emotions after two years of deserting elsewhere. China will come home after wandering for two months abroad. Lebanon will also return home after two years being absent. Yet both teams, no matter their levels, all face the wrath tests. Australia, a giant in the making, has to battle flying high Saudi Arabia. Lebanon's miraculous track is going to face a major big boy, Iran. China seems to be more relaxing, when Oman is its opponent, even though after four games, Oman has proven to be a serious dark-horse. There are also teams that have played home previously. South Korea will return for an important fixture against three points-hungry UAE, a game which the Koreans are surely holding the edge due to the UAE's poor forms. Vietnam will al...