The much-anticipated World Cup Asian qualifiers, today (July 17) at 5:00 pm will hold a group draw ceremony. The Taiwan team is in the third slot and will try to win the top two spots in the group in order to advance to the third round. The event will be broadcast live on Eldar Sports, so let's see if Taiwan can get the best draw.
(China v. Solomon Islands)
The draw for the second phase of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and 2023 Asian Cup in China joint qualifiers will be held today in Kuala Lumpur. The tournament will run from September 5, 2019 to June 9, 2020 and will be divided into eight groups of five teams each. The top of the eight groups and the second of the four best-performing groups, for a total of 12 teams, will advance to the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, and these 12 teams will also qualify for the main round of the 2023 Asian Cup in China. Below is the list of countries in each bracket, with world rankings in parentheses:
Tier 1: Iran (20), Japan (28), South Korea (37), Australia (43), Qatar (55), UAE (67), Saudi Arabia (69), China (73)
Tier 2: Iraq (77), Uzbekistan (82), Syria (85), Lebanon (86), Oman (86), Kyrgyzstan (95), Viet Nam (96), Jordan (98)
Tranche 3: Palestine (100), India (101), Bahrain (110), Thailand (116), Tajikistan (120), North Korea (122), Taiwan (125), Philippines (126)
Tranche 4: Turkmenistan (135), Myanmar (138), Hong Kong (141), Yemen (144), Afghanistan (149), Maldives (151), Kuwait (156), Malaysia (159)
Tranche 5: Indonesia (160), Singapore (162), Nepal (165), Cambodia (169), Bangladesh (183), Mongolia (187), Guam (190), Sri Lanka (201)
Here are a few possible grouping scenarios:
(World Cup qualifying bracket table. Image source:
soccer league
1. Pilgrimage Promotion Group
Japan (28), Vietnam (96), Taiwan (125), Malaysia (159), Cambodia (169), average world ranking: 115.4
In view of the strength of the first eight teams in the first gear is far more than our Taiwan team, it is more difficult to win, so it is better to draw the neighboring powerhouse Japan and South Korea, these two countries have many travelers to Europe players, it is a good learning opportunity for the players, Taiwan fans can also take this opportunity to watch the top stars of Japan and South Korea up close. The strength of the second-grade team is comparable, and ultimately chose Vietnam because of its proximity to other countries in the Middle East and West Asia, which is not only a long way to travel, but also a problem of jet lag, and a lot of the team staff are not adapted to the local diet. Of course, Vietnam's strength has improved significantly in recent years, including last year's Asian Games into the quarterfinals, the Asian Cup into the last eight, and the performance against Japan is no less impressive. Taiwan also met Vietnam in a World Cup qualifier four years ago and lost both matches, with an impressive influx of Vietnamese fans at their home stadium at the time. The fourth slot Malaysia, the two teams last year friendly, our Taiwan team won 2-0, again against the very good chance of victory. As for the fifth slot, Cambodia is naturally in line with head coach Keisuke Honda's positioning of this group as a "pilgrimage group".
(China vs. Solomon Islands, Shen Zigui)
2. Hard Work Group
UAE (67), Kirghizia (95), Taiwan (125), Turkmenistan (135), Mongolia (187), average world ranking: 121.8
All the teams in this group are located in remote places, the United Arab Emirates located in West Asia has beaten Australia in the Asian Cup to break into the quarterfinals, the strength should not be underestimated. Kyrgyz performance in the Asian Cup is also very good, the group stage close to draw China, South Korea, the two strong, 2-3 in the round of 16 small loss to the United Arab Emirates, equal to the Asian Cup in the Asian Cup to meet the three countries in the Asian top eight, Kyrgyz are only 1 goal loss. Four years ago in the World Cup qualifiers, they were still the fourth slot, and now they have rushed to the second slot. As for picking Turkmenistan for the fourth slot, it's unfortunate that in the Asian Cup qualifier the year before last, our Taiwan team was double-killed by Turkmenistan in both home and away matches. If they can win one of the matches, they may eventually participate in the Asian Cup intra-conference matches. Mongolia, as a fifth-ranked team, is a relatively long way to travel, and our Taiwan team still has a chance to win, beating their opponents 2-1 in last year's East Asian Cup.
(China v. Solomon Islands, Lancaster)
3. Political Topics Group
China (73), Kyrgyzstan (95), Taiwan (125), Hong Kong (141), Indonesia (160), average world ranking: 118.8
Obviously, the delicate political relationship between China, Hong Kong and Taiwan would make the match quite interesting if they were in the same group. Kirghizia and Indonesia also have moves and practices against China respectively. However, it is important to note that Indonesia, considered a fifth-ranking landmine, is not limited to fifth-ranking, but has only been sanctioned by FIFA in recent years and has been unable to move up in the world rankings. Four years ago in World Cup qualifying, Indonesia was still fourth-ranked.
(China v Hong Kong Starting XI. Photo credit: Hong Kong FA)
4. Kickball vacation group
Japan (28), Vietnam (96), Taiwan (125), Maldives (151), Guam (190), average world ranking: 118
