MercedesBenz240 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 15:48
0-0 in Pyongyang incoming....
There won't be a match in Pyongyang on Tuesday. DPR Korea have suddenly told the AFC today that they refused to host the Japan team due to "an uptick in streptococcal infections in Japan."
It remains to be seen whether they can find an alternate venue for this match, either in Japan or in third country; otherwise, DPR Korea may have to forfeit the match.
"Sankei Sports suggests there is a non-zero chance that Japan will be handed a win by default if a new venue can't be found. Saudi Arabia, China and Malaysia all considered candidates."
Japan continued their Asian Cup malaise and limped to another unconvincing win, with DPR Kore having some good chances to equalize in the second half. But the big news is of course the refusal of DPR Korea to host Japan on Tuesday, and the possible cancellation of the match which would see Japan awarded 3 points and clinching a place in the final round.
In the other match, Myanmar picked up their first point which keep their hopes alive, but Syria currently on 4 points are still in the driver's seat for second place.
Group C: Korea Republic 1-1 Thailand, Singapore 2-2 China PR
The group where all four teams have new coaches compared with their last matches in November. Thailand's recovery from their bad performances last year continues, while Korea Republic's problems run deeper than Klinsmann's supposed failure. On the other hand, China PR looked to have a bright start under their new coach, but inexplicably threw away a 2-goal half-time lead to minnows Singapore, which showed spirit with a new man in charge.
Now assuming China PR can recover from their low morale and beat Singapore next Tuesday (but who knows anyway), Thailand have the chance to put the top three teams all at 7 points if they can pull off another shock. But even if they lose to Korea Republic in the next match, even an away draw at China PR on matchday 5 can still be a good result, because in that case they are only 3 points behind with their final match at home against Singapore, while China PR have to travel to Korea Republic, and with goal difference as first tiebreaker Thailand may even get runners-up if they rack up enough goals. Anyway, this group may actually turn out to be the most interesting group, which actually looked dead after Thailand lost at home to China PR on matchday 1.
Group E: Hong Kong, China 0-2 Uzbekistan
The Central Asians dominated from start to finish, and could have scored already in the first half if not for a disallowed goal and a shot which hit the post. But they did convert the chances in the second half, and this group looks 90% done unless Turkmenistan can conjure up a surprise result tonight against IR Iran.
Group F: Indonesia 1-0 Vietnam
A repeat of the scoreline of the AFC Asian Cup just two months ago. That match eliminated Vietnam from the competition, and this one put their World Cup hopes in serious jeopardy. Now one point behind Indonesia, they certainly need a win next Tuesday. Otherwise, may we see the end of the reign of Troussier as their head coach?
"Tashima (note: JFA president) says DPRK asked if JFA could host Tuesday's game in Japan, but DPRK delegation's visas expire tomorrow and it's too late to get them extended."
All-in-all very weird, especially after a similar situation in the Women's Olympic qualifier between the same two countries, where Japan were also supposed to travel to DPR Korea but the AFC deemed their hosting arrangements unsatisfactory, the match was moved and the host country Saudi Arabia was only decided a few days ago. This time, the AFC did an inspection a few weeks before, and decided DPR Korea could host the WCQ match. But this last-minute u-turn by DPRK FA of course threw everybody off-guard. Even ignoring the political tensions between the two countries, the JFA are likely fed up with how these things are being handled, and probably just want to get a forfeit (which I think is within their rights) to get all these nightmares over with.
I watched a full match today (not a good one), and also watched some goal highlights of other matches.
Group A: Qatar 3-0 Kuwait, Afghanistan 0-0 India
Group D: Oman 2-0 Malaysia
Group E: IR Iran 5-0 Turkmenistan
Group F: Iraq 1-0 Philippines
Group G: Saudi Arabia 1-0 Tajikistan
Group H: UAE 2-1 Yemen, Nepal 0-5 Bahrain
Group I: Palestine 5-0 Bangladesh
As @Lorric said, the only (mild) surprise was India dropping points against Afghanistan.
Group D now has three teams tied on 6 points, with Oman, Kyrgyz Republic and Malaysia each winning their head-to-head home match so far.
Qatar, Japan, IR Iran, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Australia all have the chance to clinch a final round berth in Matchday 4.
Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed today that the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 ™- Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ Qualifiers Group B fixture between DPR Korea and Japan, scheduled to be played on March 26, 2024, will not take place as scheduled due to unforeseen circumstances.
The decision, taken in consultation with FIFA and relevant stakeholders, comes after the AFC was informed on March 20 by the DPR Korea Football Association of the need to move the match to a neutral venue due to unavoidable circumstances.
The matter will now be referred to the relevant Committees in FIFA with further updates to be communicated in due course.
amenina wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 17:31
I watched a full match today (not a good one), and also watched some goal highlights of other matches.
I was looking for the highlights of yesterday's main matches on YouTube (Japan, Iran, Iraq, South Korea,...) , but apart from Australia (on its YouTube channel), I can't find anything... I only find videos of matches played at playstation console
amenina wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 17:31
I watched a full match today (not a good one), and also watched some goal highlights of other matches.
I was looking for the highlights of yesterday's main matches on YouTube (Japan, Iran, Iraq, South Korea,...) , but apart from Australia (on its YouTube channel), I can't find anything... I only find videos of matches played at playstation console
You can find some of them on Twitter, on official or unofficial accounts. The problem with official accounts is that they often just post the goals their team scores, for example, the KFA account only posted the goal the Korea Republic scored, but not the goal Thailand scored.
