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...

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 ...

Matchday 5 will mark the end of the 1st leg of the qualification campaign. And already now, some teams have known their fates. Is this clear or not, perhaps only they can find out. Group A Lebanon vs Iran No one could imagine that after four matches, it is Lebanon , and not the likes of Iraq, Syria and the UAE, that are really chasing behind Iran and South Korea for a place in Qatar 2022, standing third with five points, which might guarantee a playoff spot. It's somewhat hailed as a glorious achievement for a country that is already plundered into a massive economic and political crisis, the key reason why Lebanon has to play away for two months. But as much as Lebanese people have been hoping for, the upcoming home return, to be scheduled in the city of Sidon, is a do-or-die battle against Iran , a major Asian football force. The Iranians had just slipped out with an unwanted draw at home to South Korea. However, South Korea is also an equal opponent for Iran, so this draw is jus...

Matchday 4 for any Asian football lovers will be a matchday to get addict with. It's not hard to realise there will be a major festival for football watchers, where major games will place teams in a serious gamble for wins or the losers take all. Group A United Arab Emirates vs Iraq Gaining only two points out of three games, both the UAE and Iraq are under tremendous pressures to gain a win to restart their already struggling campaigns, hence the upcoming 12 October face up is going to be a square off in Dubai's Zabeel Stadium. The UAE and Iraq are no stranger as they share common culture, language and has also squeezed off several times in major competitions, not to say even common managerial philosophy. The UAE, led by Dutchman Bert van Marwijk, has been unable to produce the same performance it did in the second round comeback, getting with only a goal scored by none other than Ali Mabkhout. The UAE's resistance to Iran was a bright point, as the Emiratis succumbed to o...