World Cup Draw Review: Asia and Oceania with a touch of South America

Asia and Oceania are still not merged into one confederation and I have no idea why! Before we get to those confederations though, let's take a quick look at South America. I have spent a big part of the summer watching and writing about South American football, so I have a fairly good idea of where each team is in terms of quality. Brazil qualifies automatically as hosts and therefore will not take part in the qualifiers this time around. The other 9 South American teams however will face off in one big 9 team group as usual. There are 4.5 spots in the World Cup on the line. That means 4 teams qualify automatically with the 5th placing team playing off with an Asian team for a spot in the World Cup. We can potentially have 6 South American teams in the World Cup with Brazil added to those possibly 5 spots. 6 teams out of the overall 10 nations seems like a bit much to me, but oh well lets see how that works. With 9 teams facing each other in 1 big group we will always have 1 team off on a matchday. Personally I expect to see Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia to qualify. Chile should get the 5th spot with Ecuador challenging them all the way.

Colombia National Team

 In Asia we have already had 2 rounds of football to narrow the field of teams down to 20. These 20 teams were drawn into 5 groups over the weekend. The top 2 teams in each group will move on to the next round. This system protects the regions top teams to some extent while allowing for minor upsets in which teams move on.

Group A drew China, Jordan, Iraq and Singapore together. China, Jordan and Iraq should all be in the fight for the top 2 spots. Singapore I don't see moving on but they may not exactly be walkovers either. Iraq and Jordan will open against each other in Iraq and it will be a good opportunity for either side to start off their campaign on a strong note. Jordan needs the fast start more as they finish their campaign against Iraq at home and then on the road against China.

Group B brings South Korea, Kuwait, U.A.E and Lebanon together in another interesting group. South Korea should be favored and even with a slip up should be able to finish top 2 in the group. Kuwait and the U.A.E will battle for the other spot while Lebanon will add some excitement as they pick up points. The key matchup here is U.A.E hosting South Korea in their 4th match. If U.A.E are able to get points in this matchup it will go a long way in determining if they get one of the top 2 spots.

As interesting as the first two groups may be, Group C is the group of death in Asia. Japan, North Korea, Uzbekistan and Syria are sure to excite in a group that could see any of the 4 nations moving on to the next round. Japan of course are favorites but all of their 3 opponents are capable of qualifying to the final round along with them. North Korea hosts Japan in the 5th matchday in a very important match for them, while Uzbekistan will try to defeat Syria at home the same day to avoid needing too much versus Japan in the final match.

Japan Team

Group D, involves Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand. Saudi Arabia usually qualifies for the final round and up until the last World Cup they were good enough to qualify for the big tournament. They are very shaky nowadays though and missing the final round is not out of the question. Australia should be the favorite in the group and I have no doubt they will win it. Oman and Thailand are a bit mysterious but Saudi Arabia should be weary of both. If Oman can beat Saudi Arabia at home in their opening game they will get an early strong hold on the 2nd spot. They face Thailand second and play two of their final three games at home.

Iran, Qatar, Bahrain and Indonesia make up Group E. Indonesia poses no real threat here but the group will not be short on excitement. Iran are the top seeds in the group and have qualified for World Cups recently, while Qatar was just awarded the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup and are expected to atleast make the final round. Then there's Bahrain. Bahrain made it all the way to the intercontinental playoffs the last two times they attempted to qualify. They faced Trinidad and Tobago in the 2006 playoff for the final World Cup spot and in 2010 they battled with New Zealand. Both times they lost barely. This cycle they go into this semi round as a third seeded team but something tells me they'll have a lot to say about who progresses and who doesn't from this group. They travel to Qatar in the 5th matchday then finish at home against Indonesia, so that game against Qatar will essentially decide whether they move on or not.

In Oceania, there's no real secret that New Zealand will win the confederation and represent them in the intercontinental playoff. Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea will try prevent this but I doubt they will succeed. New Zealand's main treat on their way to possible World Cup qualification is going to be the 4th placed Concacaf team. New Zealand can expect to meet Costa Rica or Honduras or possibly Jamaica in that intercontinental playoff and personally I don't think they can defeat any of the three....we are a long way away from that however, and a lot can change. We'll see how it works out.