OFC Qualifying format redone

The 2011 South Pacific Games are no longer going to be used as part of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup due to the possibility of Guam, a member of the AFC, taking part in the event. This also means that Kiribati and Tuvalu will not be taking part in FIFA World Cup qualifying as they are OFC members only and not members of FIFA.

The OFC has announced a new format that is unattached to the South Pacific Games which will take place over a series of three rounds. New Zealand are no longer scheduled to receive a bye into the final round of qualifying.

In the first round, American Samoa, Samoa, Cook Islands, and Tonga will play each other once each at a single site, likely to be Apia, Samoa. After each team has played its three games, the team in first place will advance to the second round of OFC qualifying while the other three will be eliminated.

The first round winner will join the seven highest ranked teams in Oceania in the second round. The teams have been split into two pots for the preliminary draw on 30 July 2011.

Pot 1

1. New Zealand

2. Fiji

3. New Caledonia

4. Vanuatu

Pot 2

5. Solomon Islands

6. Tahiti

7. Papua New Guinea

8. First round winner

The teams will be split into two groups of four teams, with each group taking two teams from both pots. The second round doubles as the OFC Nations Cup 2012. Suva, Fiji will be the site for all matches here. The group stage of the second round will pit each team against its group opponents once each. The top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals and to the third round of OFC 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

The third round of OFC qualifying will feature the four surviving teams in a single group. Each team will play the other three times twice each, once at home and once on the road for a total of six games per team. The top team advances to an intercontinental playoff against a team from either CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, or AFC depending on the preliminary draw results of 30 July 2011. The other three teams will be eliminated from qualifying.

Should the Oceania champion win its home-and-away aggregate-goals playoff series, they will have qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brasil.

Malaysia 2 - Taiwan 1; Vietnam 6 - Macau 0

Vietnam hosted Macau in a full stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. The crowd was not deterred by the prospect of a bloodbath, and that is exactly what the Vietnamese faithful received. Vietnam romped behind a first-half hat-trick by Le Cong Vinh and led at the interval 3-0. The score was doubled in the second half and Vietnam won big 6-0.

The second leg in Macau is but a mere formality now, and with Vietnam not being located too far away, one could expect a good number of Vietnam's fans to show up for the return leg. Unless a miracle occurs, Macau will bow out and Vietnam will advance to face Qatar in what could be the most intriguing AFC Second Round matchup aside from India versus UAE.

Malaysia, the defending ASEAN champions, were made to suffer for their win at home to Taiwan in the first leg of their aggregate-goals series. The yellow-and-blue-clad home supporters were rocking the stadium in Kuala Lumpur in support of Malaysia, and their hopes were realized before the half-hour mark after a powerful right-footed blast from Safiq Rahim that violently curved into the side netting. Malaysia held the 1-0 lead into the half, and then really gave the crowd something to cheer after a header made the score 2-0 to the good. However, Taiwan did not quit, knowing fully well that one road goal can make all the difference in a home-and-away series. A smartly cut back ball from the endline found its way into the Malaysia penalty area, from where Po Liang Chen coolly tucked the ball home. The match ended at 2-1, with the final goal subduing the crowd.

The two sides face off in four days’ time in Taipei for the right to advance to the second round. Favorites Malaysia have a slim lead that appears slimmer still after surrendering an away goal, but the Malaysians still hope for an AFC Second Round clash against archrivals Singapore.

Goals:
Vietnam
Le Cong Vinh 19, 36, 39 PK
Pham Thanh Luong 62
Nguyen Ngoc Thanh 67
Nguyen Van Quyet 87

Malaysia
Safiq Rahim 28
Mohamad Aidil Abd Radzak 55

Taiwan
Chen Po Liang 77

Match Reports:
http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35507-vietnam-v-macau

http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35508-malaysia-v-chinese-taipei

Highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcL-GrKI05o (Malaysia v. Taiwan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcL-GrKI05o (Vietnam v. Macau)

Bangladesh 3 - Pakistan 0; Mongolia 1 - Myanmar 0

Bangladesh hosted the country from which it gained independence at home in Dhaka. As is characteristic of Bangladesh, the match featured torrential rain. However, the rain was not the only obstacle visiting Pakistan failed to overcome on this night in the matchup of the two most-closely ranked teams in the round one of AFC qualifying. Bangladesh put Pakistan on the mat in the first minute with a goal and continued to pin the Pakistanis to the turf. The Bangladeshis struck again midway through the first period and again ten minutes into the second period. Pakistan placed a formal complaint to FIFA about the conditions of the pitch, but really, both teams had to play on a flooding field and Bangladesh were superior on the night.

Bangladesh take a three-goal aggregate lead into Lahore in four days time and look set to advance and play Lebanon in the second round.

Mongolia achieved its first ever win in a FIFA World Cup with a first-leg win at home to Myanmar. Khurelbaatar is a name that will go down in history as the first ever matchwinner for Mongolia in a FIFA World Cup after the 21-year-old struck gold to begin the second half. Mongolia is the only East Asian Football Federation member taking part in the first round of AFC qualifying.

The two teams reconvene in four days time in Yangon will the ultimate goal being victory and a date with Oman in the AFC Round Two.

Goals:

Bangladesh

Zahid Hasan Emily 1

Mohamed Zahid Hossain 22

Rethul Karim 56

Mongolia

Tsend-Ayush Khurelbaatar 48

Match Reports:

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=141057&date=2011-06-30

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=55209&Cat=10&dt=6/30/2011

http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35504-mongolia-v-myanmar

Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vYcbWSzjpU&feature=related (Mongolia v. Myanmar)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqqEeqXLkmk (Bangladesh v. Pakistan)

Full Match Video (Mongolia-Myanmar)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P86RE_TDc3M&feature=related

Sri Lanka 1 - Philippines 1; Palestine 2 - Afghanistan 0

Palestine visited Tajikistan in Afghanistan's designated home leg, and the guests did not repay their hosts kindly. Super hot striker Murad Alyan knocked home his fifth goal in four matches for Palestine before the half-hour mark, but the game stood delicately poised at 1-0 until Palestine substitute Ismail Alamour knocked homed the second goal at the death of regular time.

Palestine finds themselves with a massive 2-0 lead in the aggregate series, built upon a solid foundation of two away goals. Palestine will be pleased to take the lead back home for their first ever FIFA World Cup qualifying match on home soil. Afghanistan will be hard pressed to advance to face Thailand in the second round.

The match which many considered the best of the day did not disappoint. The Azkals of the Philippines visited Sri Lanka in Colombo. It was the visiting side that dominated possesion early, but it was the home side that took the narrowest of leads into halftime after a late goal in spite of sparse support. The Philippines looked to be reeling after star striker Phil Younghusband (pictured on right) was subbed out three minutes before Sri Lanka's goal due to injury. However, the Philippines wasted no time in overcoming the deficit, with Younghusband's replacement Nate Burkey scoring a mere five minutes into the second half. Neither team was able to push for the ultimate victory, and the match ended as the first draw in the tournament, and the only draw on the day, thanks in no small part to the Philippines' goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

Keen observers will turn their focus to the return leg in the Philippines in four days time, with second round opponent Kuwait being the most interested observers of all. With the aggregate score tied and two teams evenly matched, the hungry Filipino crowd may prove the decisive factor for its Azkals, a side that chose not to compete in the previous FIFA World Cup. The stadium in Manila is already sold out, and the Philippines have already begun preparations for ticket sales for the potential Kuwait match.

Goals:

Palestine

Murad Alyan 28

Ismail Alamour 89

Sri Lanka

Chathura Gunarathna 43

Philippines

Nate Burkey 50

Match reports:

http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35505-afghanistan-v-palestine

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/224793/sports/azkals-tie-sri-lanka-in-away-match-with-sparse-crowd (VIDEO included)

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/06/30/spo02.asp

Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yupe9q6Hz8 (Sri Lanka v. Philippines)

Nepal 2 - Timor Leste 1; Cambodia 4 - Laos 2

In the opening match of AFC qualifying, visiting Laos took a surprisingly early lead at Cambodia in the rain of Phnom Penh. The blow was delivered by 19-year-old phenom Manolom Phomsouvanh. Laos carried the 1-0 scoreline into the break. The start of the second half featured a quick downpour of goals, with Cambodia striking twice within twelve minutes only to see Laos equalize before the hour mark. However, first-half substitute Samel Nasa for Cambodia came up huge for the home side with two goals off the bench, including the fourth goal to finish off Laos after Cambodia had found its third midway through the second half.

In four days time, the two neighbors will go into Laos with the series favoring Cambodia 4-2. However, Laos did find two vital road goals and could very well advance with a 2-0 or 3-1 scoreline in the return leg. The winner faces China.

Nepal hosted Timor Leste in Kathmandu, the site of both legs of this first round matchup. The first leg was designated Nepal's home leg. In yet another match played on a wet pitch, Nepal took advantage of a penalty kick won at around the quarter-hour mark. Nepal took the 1-0 advantage into the half, but the start of the second half seemed to spell disaster for the home team. Timor Leste found an equalizer two minutes after the restart and then Nepal's Bharat Khawas was shown his second yellow of the second half just ten minutes in. However, Nepal were saved by a strike by Manu Rai Ju (pictured in red) twenty minutes from time and won 2-1 in spite of its numerical disadvantage.

The two sides take to the same pitch again in just three day's time, meaning this series will be the first to be decided in Asia. Nepal take a one-goal lead into its "road" leg. The winner faces Jordan.

Goals:

Cambodia

Khuon Laboravy 51

Samel Nasa 57, 88

Kouch Sokumpheak 67

Laos

Manolom Phomsouvanh 9, 59

Nepal

Anil Gurung 14 PK

Manu Rai Ju 71

Timor Leste

Juvito Da Silva 47

Match reports:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2011-06-29-1690223414_x.htm

http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35501-cambodia-v-laos

http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35502-nepal-v-timor-leste

Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKLeDAxa4t4&feature=related (Nepal v. Timor Leste)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RO6u7-KL3g&NR=1 (Cambodia v. Laos)

Preview: AFC First Round First Legs

Cambodia hosts Laos in the first of eight games in a busy first day of Asian FIFA World Cup qualifying. Already some of the eight sides are calling for victory, boldly stating that they are favorites to advance and will come through. Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines all love their chances to advance and will look to back up their talk come Wednesday.

I have listed the current ELO ratings for each team involved in round one. The most even matchup on paper is Pakistan versus Bangladesh, an interesting battle between two countries that were unified as one between 1947 and 1971, during which time Bangladesh was known as the West Bengal state within Pakistan. Those two teams played a scoreless draw in the 2009 SAFF Cup.

Other intriguing tilts include the rising Philippines against Sri Lanka and a battle between neighboring Laos and Cambodia, with Laos being the lowest-ranked favorite in any of the eight matchups. There is certain to be a buzz stirring in South and Southeast Asia with five teams emerging from the South Asian Football Federation and seven hailing from the Association of South East Asian Nations.

Malaysia have recent success upon which to fall back having won the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup with aggregate-goal victories over Vietnam and Indonesia in the knockout stages.

29 June 2011

#204 Laos at #211 Cambodia 3:00 Phnom Penh

#229 Timor-Leste at #187 Nepal 4:45 Kathmandu

#181 Myanmar at #210 Mongolia 5:30 Ulaan Bator

#184 Philippines at #192 Sri Lanka 5:30 Colombo

#155 Palestine at #203 Afghanistan 6:00 Tursunzoda, Tajikistan

#191 Pakistan at #190 Bangladesh 7:00 Dhaka

#218 Macau at #141 Vietnam 7:15 Ho Chi Minh City

#194 Taiwan at #139 Malaysia 7:45 Kuala Lumpur

Pre-match interviews:

http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/men-a-youth/fifa-world-cup/35471-arduous-2014-wc-journey-starts-wednesday

Preview:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1463106/index.html

Belize suspended

FIFA announced the suspension of the Football Federation of Belize today, meaning that Belize's home qualifying match against Montserrat this Saturday is postponed until Belize is reinstated. Belize is currently ahead 5-2 in the home-and-away series.

FIFA suspended the FFB because of severe government interference and a promise that there would be no services provided to protect the safety of visiting players and officials. If Belize is not reinstated to FIFA by and cannot play its match against Montserrat before 11 July 2011, Belize will be disqualified from the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Official Statement:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/media/newsid=1454212/index.html

South American qualification format

CONMEBOL pulls out its tried and tested single qualification group format for the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held on CONMEBOL turf. Brasil will be excluded from this qualification cycle as hosts, but, as part of its preparations, will have the privilege of hosting the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup the year before the FIFA World Cup final stage. Brasil also hosts the 2015 Copa América and the Summer Olympic tournaments in 2016.

In addition to Brasil, four other South American countries will advance to the 2014 FIFA World Cup final stage with a fifth advancing to an intercontinental playoff series. This means that in all likelihood, six out of the ten teams in South America will be present at Brasil 2014!

The qualification cycle will consist of 16 matches for each of the nine participating teams, and each team will play the others teams home and away. The top four finishers advance to Brasil 2014, and the fifth-place squad advances to the intercontinental playoffs. So, who will advance to the FIFA World Cup final stage? Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay seem like great choices. What do Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador have to say about that? Will Venezuela finally get the job done? Will Peru and Bolivia pull off enough upsets to shock the continental giants? All we know is that the teams that come out of South America will have done so via the most fair and egalitarian qualification system of the six confederations' system. No one can complain about having a tougher group than a similarly talented side for every pair of teams clashes twice. CONMEBOL, where excuses go to die.

African qualification format

Once again, the African qualification format is the least forgiving format of all six continental confederations. With 52 teams attempting to qualify for just five precious spots at Brasil 2014, African qualification does not take kindly to second-place finishers. In South America, fifth-place finishers stay alive. In North America, fourth-place finishers survive. In Europe, second place may be good enough for the playoffs. In Asia, third place can see a team through to Brasil. This is not the case in Africa, for CAF once again has not provided its top teams with a safety net should they falter in qualification, a phenomenon with which Egypt is all too familiar. Then again, this lack of margin for error is what allows surprise packages like Angola and Togo in 2006 to qualify for the sport's grandest stage.

The first round of CAF qualifying will feature the 24 lowest-ranked teams in the July 2011 FIFA rankings. Teams seeded 29-40 will be placed in Pot 5. Teams seeded 41-52 will be placed into Pot 6 and will be drawn against a team in Pot 5 for a home-and-away series. The twelve winners will advance to the second round.

The second round will consist of ten groups of four teams each. Teams seeded 1-10 will be in Pot 1, teams seeded 11-20 will be in Pot 2, and teams seeded 21-28 will be in Pot 3. In addition, Pot 3 will include the winners of the first two first round matchups to be drawn. Pot 4 will consist of the other ten first round winners. Teams will play all other teams in their group home and away for a total of six matches. Only the ten group winners advance to the third round.

CAF, true to its winners-only attitude, forwent the opportunity to model its ten-team final round after that of AFC. In Asia, the ten teams are split into two groups of five with the top two in each group advancing to the FIFA World Cup final stage and the third-place teams meeting a playoff to determine fifth-place. CAF does not take kindly to this seemingly more fair way of determining its delegates. CAF would rather deliver drama, and boy did they ever! The ten teams will be drawn into five home-and-away series with the five winners advancing to Brasil. No word has been given whether the ten second-round winners will be seeded into two pots according to FIFA ranking or whether the draw will be free-form.

Short and simple is the CAF way. Perhaps wear and tear and travel costs came into play in CAF's final decision for its qualification format. Had CAF used the AFC's format for its ten-team final round, teams qualifying for Brasil 2014, would have had to play either 12, 14, or 16 qualifying matches. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup cycle, Africa's delegates to South Africa had to play 12 games. Under the chosen format for the 2014 cycle, teams will only have to play either 8 or 10 matches to reach the final stage of the FIFA World Cup.

European qualification format

The 2014 FIFA World Cup European qualification cycle will mirror its 2010 version exactly. The 53 teams in UEFA will be split into six pots of nine teams each according to the July 2011 FIFA rankings. UEFA will send thirteen delegates to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brasil.

The teams will be drawn into eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams. FIFA will make sure that Russia and Georgia will not be paired together within the same group due to ongoing political unrest. The same method will be apply to prevent Azerbaijan and Armenia from falling into the same group.

All teams in a group will play each other home and away. The winner of each group will advance to Brasil 2014. In addition, the eight best second-place finishers will advance to a final home-and-away playoff series to determine UEFA's final four participants at Brasil 2014. The worst second-place finisher will be eliminated along with the 35 teams that finished outside the top two places in their respective groups.

In determining the rankings of the second-place teams, results against sixth-place finishers in Groups A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H will not factor into the final tally. This is done out of fairness to the second-place finisher in Group I who will have played two less matches than its counterparts. The eight teams that earned the most points in their eight matches that factor into the rankings will advance to the playoff series. The four highest ranking teams in the FIFA rankings in late 2013 will be drawn against the other four teams in home-and-away playoff series with the four winners advancing to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brasil.

Belize 5 - Montserrat 2

The 2014 FIFA World Cup began with little fanfare, but those present for the match were blessed with a seven-goal shootout, hopefully a scoreline indicative of the matches yet to come.

Playing on a slick surface, Belize's star striker Deon McCaulay scored the first goal of the tournament to give his side a 1-0 advantage and himself a share of the all-time scoring mark for the Belize national team. Montserrat pulled even to end the first half 1-1 thanks to the first of two goals from Jay Lee Hodgson. In a second half played in rainy conditions, Belize put the game out of reach, scoring four goals before Montserrat were able to answer with a late consolation goal to reach the final scoreline of 5-2.

McCaulay finished with a hat trick and sole possession of his country's all-time scoring mark of seven goals. Hodgson finished with the distinction of being the first player cautioned in this edition of the FIFA World Cup, receiving a yellow card in the eleventh minute.

Belize should be feeling pretty confident of finishing off Montserrat in their first home qualifier of the tournament, which takes place this Sunday. Belize opened up a 3-goal lead in the aggregate series with five road goals in the bag. Montserrat will have to find to a way to overcome the deficit in the return leg in four days time or face another four years of waiting for their next chance to qualify.

Goals:

Belize

Deon McCaulay 24, 74, 83

Harrison Roches 50

Elroy Kulyen (pictured in white) 53

Montserrat

Jay Lee Hodgson 44, 86

Match Reports:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/soccer/06/16/word.cup.quali.ap/index.html?sct=sc_t2_a7

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/photogallery/gallery=1453116.html#1453106

Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S7b0B9vKYc

Preview: Belize at Montserrat

And so the journey to Brasil 2014 begins this Wednesday!

Montserrat, the side officially crowned the world's worst after losing to Bhutan in 2002, is back at it, this time actually getting to play a two-legged first-round tie in FIFA World Cup qualifying after only getting one match in both of the previous editions of the tournament. Over two-thirds of the island's population was dispersed after a series of volcanic eruptions between 1995 and 1997. The capital city is a ghost town, but still they field a soccer team.

The team heavily relies on England-born men who have ancestral ties to the British overseas territory and thus are eligible to compete in the Montserrat uniform. Midfielder Anthony Griffith (#4 in the photo) plays in the fourth division of English football and forward Ellis Remy plays in the eighth division of English football.

Their opponents are a former British colony stuck right in the middle of Latin America, Belize, the traditionally weakest side of the seven Central American countries. Belize, for once, will be overwhelming favorites to win some soccer matches. Earlier this year, Belize finished seventh of seven in the Copa Centroamericana, but Belize were able to overcome St. Kitts and Nevis in the first round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,a feat they would like to achieve again.

Belize feature four Honduran-based players, including stalwart Shane Orio in goal, a national team regular since 2000. At midfielder, Belize feature a couple of men named Elroy, Elroy Smith and Elroy Kuylen. At the forward position, Belize feature Deon McCaulay. Should McCaulay score twice in the series against Montserrat, he will become Belize's all-time leading scorer with six goals.

This match is designated as Montserrat's home leg but will be played in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. Four days later, Belize hosts Montserrat in the return leg in Belmopan, marking a return to home soil for Belize in FIFA World Cup play after playing home legs in Guatemala City, Guatemala and Houston, United States in the 2010 edition.

Links:

Match preview: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1451305/index.html

Monserrat interviews: http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=1451575.html

Belize interviews: http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=1451567.html

Kickoff: 15 June at 17:00 Central time

CONCACAF pots announced for main draw

Cuba are the big winners of the somewhat foolish decision-making of CONCACAF, but who would expect anything else from the least organized of the six confederations? Whereas the other confederations will be applying the 27 July 2011 FIFA rankings to seed their teams for the 30 July 2011 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw, CONCACAF will use the March 2011 rankings it used to determine the ten participants in its first round of qualifiers. This completely ignores the continental showpiece tournament taking place right now, the Gold Cup, meaning that teams performing well in the tournament like Panama, Canada, and El Salvador will not be able to jump ahead of underperforming Cuba to grab the sixth and final bye into the third round. Furthermore, Cuba's development would have been better served by playing their Caribbean rivals in meaningful qualifiers rather than being given a bye in a third round in which they are unlikely to find success.

Pot 1 (Bye to third round)

1. United States

2. Mexico

3. Honduras

Pot 2 (Bye to third round)

4. Jamaica

5. Costa Rica

6. Cuba

Pot 3

Winners of second-round groups A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Pot 4 (Bye to second round)

7. Panama

8. Canada

9. El Salvador

10. Grenada

11. Trinidad and Tobago

12. Haiti

Pot 5 (Bye to second round)

13. Antigua and Barbuda

14. Guyana

15. Suriname

16. St. Kitts and Nevis

17. Guatemala

18. Dominica

Pot 6 (Bye to second round)

19. Puerto Rico

20. Barbados

21. Curacao

22. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

23. Cayman Islands

24. Nicaragua

Pot 7

25. Bermuda (bye to second round)

26./35. Belize/Montserrat

27./34. Dominican Republic/Anguilla

28./33. British Virgin Islands/U.S. Virgin Islands

29./32. St. Lucia/Aruba

30./31. Turks and Caicos Islands/Bahamas

For the second round, one team each from Pots 4, 5, 6, and 7 will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. The first-place team will advance to Pot 3.

For the third round, one team from Pots 1 and 2 and two teams from Pot 3 will be drawn into three groups of four. The top two teams from each group advance to the fourth round.

I wish that Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint-Martin were full FIFA members so that we could see how they would fare were they allowed to take part in FIFA World Cup qualifying, but that must wait for a later edition of the world's premiere tournament.

At a glance, it appears that the six teams in Pot 4 would be the teams that advance to Pot 3 from the second round groups. However, if Guatemala or Suriname from Pot 5 were to get a favorable draw such as Grenada or Haiti, they could advance to Pot 3.