Asian Cup qualifying battle resumes

Following the withdrawal of Lebanon earlier this month, 23 teams remain in the hunt for 12 places in next year’s football extravaganza, which will be co-hosted by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam from July 7 to 29, next year.

Among the teams returning to action are Asia’s five representatives at the recent FIFA World Cup – Australia, Iran, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia and Asian Cup holders Japan – who will hope to build on the winning starts that they enjoyed in February.

While all of the other teams in the qualifying competition have played two games, the quintet have only managed to squeeze in one match so far, having postponed their games on March 1 in order to prepare  for Germany.

Australia’s game against Lebanon has since been scrapped, but there are still a pair of heavyweight clashes in store early next month when the Korean take on Iran in Seoul and Saudi Arabia meet Japan in Jeddah in their rescheduled games.

Mindful of those big matches to come, Asia’s traditional big four will no doubt be keen to retain their perfect records on Wednesday.

The Japanese begin a new era as Bosnian coach Ivica Osim takes the helm in a competitive match for the first time. Osim will not have the services of the recently-retired Hidetoshi Nakata, European-based stars including Shunsuke Nakamura, Junichi Inamoto and Naohiro Takahara, and injured striker Keiji Tamada but the Asian Cup champs are still expected to be too strong for the Yemenis in the Group A match in Niigata.

Saudi coach Marcos Paqueta remains in charge despite his side’s poor showing in Germany but the Brazilian knows that nothing less than victory will do when his side visit Kolkota for a meeting with South Asian Football Federation champions India, playing their first qualifier under English coach Bobby Houghton.

The situation is similar for Iran and Korea with the two teams, both under new management, expected to consolidate their positions in Group B by picking up three points each on Wednesday.

Amir Ghalenoei will get his first taste of competitive action as Iran coach when Team Melli face Syria in Tehran, while Dutchman Pim Verbeek, a former assistant to Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat, takes charge of the Korean for their visit to group minnows Chinese Taipei.

The Iranians and Koreans will be missing their European-based stars as will Australia, who play their first home match as a member of the Asian Football Confederation against Kuwait in Sydney.

Deprived of the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Tim Cahill, caretaker coach Graham Arnold will look to a squad drawn largely from the domestic A-League to keep Australia’s challenge for a spot in the Asian Cup finals on track.

Group D features just three teams following Lebanon’s pull-out so Asian Cup 2004 semi-finalists Bahrain will have to watch from the sideline until their next game against the Australians in Sydney on October 11.

The United Arab Emirates will look to continue their perfect start in Group C when they meet Jordan in Amman. Victories over Oman and Pakistan in their first two qualifiers have put the Emirates side in a good position and newly-appointed French coach Bruno Metsu is expected to continue the good job done by his predecessor, compatriot Dominique Bathenay.

The other Group C encounter sees Czech Milan Macala return as head coach of Oman for their trip to Islamabad to face Pakistan. Macala led the Omanis to their first Asian Cup appearance in China in 2004 before taking UAE club Al Ain to the AFC Champions League final last season.

Group E is a tight affair with all four teams on three points after two games. Asian Cup 2004 finalists China will attempt to open up some daylight on their rivals when they take on ASEAN Football Federation champions Singapore in Tianjin, while Palestine and Iraq clash in Amman.

In Group F, Qatar will seek their third win in a row when they take on Bangladesh in Chitaggong while Uzbekistan look to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to the Qataris in March when they host Hong Kong in Tashkent.

AFC Asian Cup 2007
Matchday Three fixtures – Wednesday, August 16
Group A
Japan v Yemen (Niigata)
India v Saudi Arabia (Kolkota)

Group B
Iran v Syria (Tehran)
Chinese Taipei v Korea Republic (Taipei)

Group C
Jordan v United Arab Emirates (Amman)
Pakistan v Oman (Islamabad)

Group D
Australia v Kuwait (Sydney)

Group E
China v Singapore (Tianjin)
Palestine v Iraq (Amman) – to be played on Aug.17

Group F
Uzbekistan v Hong Kong (Tashkent)
Bangladesh v Qatar (Chitaggong)