Asia Angle: Five big WCQ questions

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  • The final round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup starts on Thursday with 12 Asian teams split into two groups of six. The top two from each go to Russia automatically while third-placed finishers enter the play-offs.

    Here, Sport360 addresses five talking points over the games to come.

    1) CAN UAE GET THE START THEY NEED?

    The Whites have the talent to go all the way to Russia but it is time for coach Mahdi Ali and his men to start beating the best that the continent has to offer. And there is no time like the present with their opening game against Japan at Saitama Stadium, just north of Tokyo on Thursday.

    If a game at the home of the four-time continental champions was not tough enough it is followed by a mad rush back to Abu Dhabi to host Australia, the Asian Cup holders. To come away from two games against two of the best– if not the two best teams in Asia –with four or six points would not only put UAE in a great position for the eight games to come, it would send a message to the rest of the group and the rest of Asia.

    It would show that the 2015 Asian Cup third-placed team [UAE beat Japan in the quarter-finals last year] has the belief and the streetsmarts, as well as the talent, to go even higher in the continental pecking order.

    Follow every Asian Cup qualifier with our Live Score Centre

    2) CAN IRAQ SURVIVE WITHOUT YOUNIS MAHMOUD?

    He has been one of the major figures in Asian football in the 21st century but it seems as if the Desert Fox has finally hung up his international boots and, this time, he may not be taking them back down.

    In the past, the striker and hero of the 2007 Asian Cup, has often popped up with a goal when his team was in dire need; a big-name player for the biggest games.

    Without him, Iraq play a better brand of football – flowing and fluid. But there are worries that the team may be lacking a little in front of goal. The Rio Olympics was a stark example of a team that has all the ability to dominate opposition but can struggle to put the ball in the back of the net.

    Such is the standard of opposition, the same failings can’t be afforded this time. Iraq have the talent but need to be ruthless.

    Follow every Asian Cup qualifier with our Live Score Centre

    3) CAN QATAR PLAY IN A WORLD CUP BEFORE 2022? 

    Qatar have been one of the most-improved international teams in recent years, not just in Asia but around the world. Now, the Maroons have a genuine chance to reach their first World Cup and there is perhaps no country anywhere more desperate to do so. Nobody wants to be the first nation in the modern history of football to make their debut appearance at the World Cup thanks to being the host.

    The team showed what they could do in the second round of qualification and it will get a perfect chance to stake their credentials against Iran in Tehran on Thursday. Three points at the Azadi Stadium would give Qatar immediate entry into the big boys’ club of Asian football.

    Follow every Asian Cup qualifier with our Live Score Centre

    4) CAN VAN MARWIJK STEER SAUDIS BACK TO THE TOP?

    A decade ago Saudi Arabia had just completed a fourth World Cup appearance in succession. Few, especially in the desert kingdom, would have believed that they would have been absent from 2010 and nowhere near 2014. They have tried all kinds of coaches –local, Brazilian, Romanian, Portuguese and Spanish – and now it is back to the Netherlands. Frank Rijkaard tried and failed in 2014 and now it is the time for Bert Van Marwijk,

    He is certainly not lacking in experience and took the Netherlands to the 2010 World Cup final but he will be feted like never before if he can lead his squad to Russia. The Green Falcons have a good start – at home to Thailand and then ‘away’ at the temporary Malaysian home of Iraq. They have to take advantage.

    Bert van Marwijk: Saudi Arabia coach.

    Bert van Marwijk: Saudi Arabia coach.

    Follow every Asian Cup qualifier with our Live Score Centre

    5) CAN CHINA FINALLY MATCH CLUB SUCCESS?

    The Chinese Super League is one of the richest and most-watched competitions in the world. There are some big-name players and coaches helping to make it Asia’s No1 domestic tournament. In the Asian Champions League too, there have been two wins from the last three years, and this year there are two Chinese teams in the last eight for the first time.

    But the national team has yet to catch up. Chinese football is feeling good about itself but Team Dragon has a habit of dampening such optimism. It all starts with a game in Seoul. China has a terrible record against South Korea but nothing would signal the start of a new era better than a win at the home of Asia’s most successful national team, even a draw would be celebrated.

    China have nothing to lose. Nobody expects a top-two finish but the team may just sneak into the top three.

    Follow every Asian Cup qualifier with our Live Score Centre

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