You called it
I’m not confident
You have not missed anything. I believe we can do it just fine.
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Fuck. that’s a loaded group.
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Would have felt more confident being in group B
Should we be too scared about Saudi Arabia? I know they’re strong at home, but I don’t see them doing us in Australia.
We have seen that, no?
Or was that a goalless draw?
YEH THANKS MATE
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It’s almost like the footballing gods don’t want us to punish Iran for 1998.
We demand an investigation.
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I really want to see Qatar fuck it up and miss out on qualifying, even with the rigged easy group and expanded qualification slots. It would just be a lovely little football treat.
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To anyone that has done so previously, how are the tickets to Socceroos away days in Japan usually sold to us? It’s looking like it’s October 15 when I’ll be there anyway
And take no pleasure in it. Couldnt have asked for a much worse draw. Only UAE instead of Bahrain and DPR Korea instead of Indonesia would have been worse, based on FIFA rankings. We got the top ranked team from every pot.
I really dont see us qualifying in the top 2, but I think we should be confident about finishing 3rd/4th and progressing to the round robin group stage. Our first 3 games are Bahrain (H), Indonesia (A) and China (H), which are games we should be winning. Do that and I think we basically have 4th wrapped up before the next game with Japan (A). Who knows, maybe winning the first 3 give us the confidence and momentum to grab 2nd. The Saudis have also dropped off a little recently, hence them being in Pot 3.
At a guess, we could expect Iran, Qatar, Korea Republic, Iraq, Japan and Saudi Arabi to qualify directly. With Uzbekistan, UAE, Jordan, Oman, China and Australia moving onto the round robin group phase. Youd have to fancy us winning one of those groups, but there are still some tricky matches there.
Failing that, there is another group playoff should we finish 2nd. Win that and we would be in yet another intercontinental playoff with either the 10th best Africa, 7th/8th best North American, 7th best South American and 2nd best Oceania.
Based on rankings and current qualification status, these teams are likely to consist of South Africa/Congo/Ghana, Honduras/El Salvador, Paraguay/Chile, and Solomon Islands.
Just adding this for those that missed the draw.
Other groups and match days
On tours…
Home games
MD1: Subway Socceroos v Bahrain – Thursday, 5 September
MD3: Subway Socceroos v China PR – Thursday, 10 October
MD5: Subway Socceroos v Saudi Arabia – Thursday, 14 November
MD7: Subway Socceroos v Indonesia – Thursday, 20 March
MD9: Subway Socceroos v Japan – Thursday, 5 June
At a guess MCG/ Accor for the China/ Japan games or vv. Being the likely biggest drawers.
Away games
MD2: Indonesia v Subway Socceroos – Tuesday, 10 September
MD4: Japan v Subway Socceroos – Tuesday, 15 October
MD6: Bahrain v Subway Socceroos – Tuesday, 19 November
MD8: China PR v Subway Socceroos – Tuesday, 25 March
MD10: Saudi Arabia v Subway Socceroos – Tuesday, 10 June
Other groups.
Agreed it’s a tough draw. With top 2 teams in Pots 1, 2 (us) and 3… but we should be able to beat Saudi Arabia, just a tough away game for MD10 (hopefully we are home and hosed before then)
And Bahrain, China and Indonesia are probably better playing and travel destinations than the other options.
Plus with mostly Eastern Asian teams, decent broadcast timezones (broadcasters will be happy)
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Japan is the only realistic away game I would consider going to. Unless the Indo’s play in Bali which would almost be a home match for us
For any Motorsport fans
Shanghai F1 is 21-23 March next year, (second race a week after Melbourne)
Then Socceroos somewhere in China on the Tuesday.
As of next week, Australian can travel to China for 15 days visa free.
–
On the Indo game, a Wiki edit (not sourced) lists the Australian game in Surabaya, East Java, the closest major city to Bali.
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If we can’t qualify through the 3 opportunities we might as well fold the national team.
Saying that, the other teams aren’t doing great either so anything is possible.
Japan away to be hosted at 62k Saitama Stadium, home of Urawa Red Diamonds, on the outskirts of Tokyo.
(Japanese language link)
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Am i remembering this right, Urawa fans are somewhat equivalent to WSW fans?
They’re utter cunts and the most (only?) problematic fans in the J-League, but haven’t heard of any issues at Nippon NT games.
I did Saitama away ~10 years ago, the Tommy Oar shit cross game, had a blast.
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