Japan, S. Korea and Australia face Gulf challenges in World Cup bid
18/11/2008 17:58
Japan take on Qatar in Doha tomorrow as Takeshi Okada's side bid to
re-assert themselves in the final round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Asian
Qualifiers.
Japan and Qatar have four points each from two and three games
respectively, and are chasing an Australia team who lead Group A with a maximum
six points from two matches. The Aussies face Bahrain in Manama
tomorrow.
Both Group B matches are also being played in the Gulf, with Saudi
Arabia hosting South Korea in Riyadh and UAE taking on Iran in Dubai.
Japan
enjoyed a confidence boost following last Thursday's 3-1 friendly win over Syria
in Kobe, where left-back Yuto Nagatomo and strikers Keiji Tamada and Yoshito
Okubo all got on the scoresheet.
The win relieved some pressure on the
under-fire Okada, who's determined to make up for last month's disappointing 1-1
home draw with Uzbekistan, who have a bye tomorrow.
"It was great that my
players kept their motivation high. The team tried almost everything I wanted to
test," Okada said. "But we mustn't forget that this result won't guarantee us
anything for the Qatar match."
Playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura was among the
Europe-based stars who missed the Syria match, but the Celtic star is expected
to play against Qatar, having scored a penalty in his club's 2-1 win at Hamilton
at the weekend.
However, Japan will have to cover for injuries to captain and
centre-back Yuji Nakazawa and first-choice goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki, which will
mean added responsibility for Brazil-born defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka.
Qatar
warmed up for Japan's visit with Friday's 1-1 home draw against a South Korea
side missing their own Europe-based stars like Park Ji-sung and Lee
Young-pyo.
Qatar coach Bruno Metsu said the game had put his side in the
right frame of mind ahead of their crucial encounter with the 2002 World Cup
quarter-finalists.
"It was a good game of football that will give us a lot of
confidence when we play Japan," said the Frenchman, famed for taking Senegal to
the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. "After the friendly loss to Iran, our
players showed they can compete with the best."
Australia take on a
struggling Bahrain as they bid to record their third successive victory and
preserve the only 100 per cent record in the final qualifying round. Bahrain
were crushed 4-0 by fellow World Cup hopefuls Saudi Arabia in a friendly in
Riyadh last Wednesday.
Australia stamped their authority on Group A last
month when they trounced Qatar 4-0 in Brisbane, where Everton star Tim Cahill
netted the opener, Blackburn Rovers' Brett Emerton bagged a brace and
Germany-based Josh Kennedy scored the fourth.
The victory established Pim
Verbeek's side as early front-runners for a place in South Africa following a
1-0 win in Uzbekistan in September.
Australia's cause has been boosted by the
return of Harry Kewell, who scored the opener in Galatasaray's 2-0 win over
Istanbul Buyuksehir BSK on Sunday, and Palermo's Mark Bresciano.
Emerton,
though, has suffered a hamstring injury and joins Blackburn teammate Vince
Grella (hamstring), Queensland Roar captain Craig Moore (testicular cancer) and
Nurnberg's Matthew Spiranovic (ankle) as players ruled out from the original
24-man squad named last week.
Bahrain will be looking for their first win of
the campaign after losing 3-2 at home to Japan and drawing 1-1 in Qatar in
September.
Saudi Arabia's showdown with Group B leaders South Korea is one of
the most eagerly awaited ties of the campaign. Both sides and Iran have four
points from two games, while DPR Korea, who have a bye this week, have the same
number of points after three matches.
South Korea's determination to appear
in their seventh successive World Cup was evident in Seoul last month when Huh
Jung-moo's side trounced UAE 4-1 with goals from striker Lee Keun-ho (two), Park
ji-sung, who impressed in Manchester United's 5-0 league victory over Stoke, and
Kwak Tae-hee.
Huh was quietly confident after his side's friendly draw with
Qatar in Doha, which helped much of his squad get acclimatised to conditions in
the Gulf.
"I'm not too worried about the result because I was more focused on
checking the players' conditioning ahead of the Saudi Arabia game," Huh said.
"The game was helpful in preparing our players for the match."
The Saudis,
who are bidding for their fifth consecutive World Cup, will hope to replicate
the same form at the King Fahd Stadium as in last week's demolition of Bahrain,
when Faisal Al Sultan netted the opener, Naif Hazazi scored a brace and Redha
Tukur converted a 90th-minute penalty.
Nasser Al Johar's side are likely to
miss striker Yasser Al Qahtani, the reigning AFC Player of the Year, who
suffered an injury in training before the 1-0 win over Thailand on November 8.
Defender Hussein Abdulghani, who plays for Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax, has a
hamstring injury while Saad Al Harthi is suspended.
Iran's bid to make their
third World Cup in four editions also gained momentum last month when they moved
to four points with a hard-fought 2-1 home win over DPR Korea, with an opener
from skipper Mehdi Mahdavikia and Javad Nekounam's 23rd international
goal.
Ali Daei's side, who beat Qatar 1-0 a friendly in Doha on November 9,
take on a UAE side who remain rock-bottom of Group B after three
losses.
Wednesday's Matchday Four clashes will be the last Asian World Cup
qualifiers for the year, with the final round resuming in February. The top two
teams from each group qualify for South Africa and the winner of a play-off
between the two third-placed sides will take on New Zealand for a place in the
2010 finals.
Xinhua
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