FIFA World Cup Qualifying 2014: Preview: AFC Third Round Matchday Six

Four of ten berths into the final group stage of Asian qualifying are still up for grabs on the final matchday of the first group stage. 29 February 2012 will go down in history as one of the best days in some countries' footballing history, while others will rue the day for opportunities lost.

The preview will start with the deciding matches in Group D, both of which kickoff at 4:30 Central Time (GMT-6). The current group standings are as follows:

Australia 12 pts IN

Saudi Arabia 6 pts +1, 4 goals scored

Oman 5 pts -5, 1 goal scored

Thailand 4 pts -2, 4 goals scored

All four teams are still in contention for the next round. Saudi Arabia pay a visit to group winners Australia in Melbourne knowing that a win would secure them second place in the group. However, Holger Osieck's Australia do not appear to be resting on their laurels and have named a decent squad for the clash. Mark Schwarzer (Fulham) will be in goal, and captain Lucas Neill (Al Jazira, United Arab Emirates; pictured, 2) will be set up in the defense before him. Outstanding performers from the 2011 AFC Asian Cup David Carney (Bunyodkor, Uzbekistan) and Sasa Ognenovski (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, South Korea, pictured, 6) will be alongside Neill.

The midfield is a bit more raw for Australia, with only Brett Emerton (Sydney FC) being a stalwart at the position. Mark Bresciano (Al Nasr, UAE) is making his first appearance for the Socceroos since Osieck took over after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. James Troisi is one of three European-based players as he plays in Turkey for Kayserispor. At forward is another European-based player in Adam Sarota of Utrecht in the Dutch League. Sarota will be splitting minutes with former star Harry Kewell (Melbourne Victory' pictured, 10) and up-and-comer Alex Brosque (Shimizu S-Pulse, Japan). With so many quality players not making the final cut, all who did make the Australia squad will be eager to put on a good performance, so there will be no questioning the home side's motivation in this match.

The pressure is on Saudi Arabia's coach Frank Rijkaard to secure the win and avoid a devastating failure to qualify for the final ten in Asia. The only non-domestically-based player in the side is forward Yasser Al Qahtani of Al Ain (UAE; pictured, green). The Green Falcons will be counting on him and strike partner Nasser Al-Shamrani (Al-Shabab) to deliver much needed offense in the encounter. Playmaker Mohammad Al-Shalboub of Al-Hilal will be looking to breakdown the inexperienced midfield of Australia and will be joined in the midfield by captain Taisir Al-Jassim of Al-Ahli. Al-Hilal's Osama Hawsawi will be the leader in defense for Saudi Arabia.

Should Saudi Arabia slip up, the match is Muscat between hosts Oman and visiting Thailand will be crucial. An Oman win would carry them through to the final group stage. If Saudi Arabia lose, a Thailand victory would be sufficient. If Saudi Arabia tie, a Thai victory would need to overcome a goal differential of three in order for Thailand to overtake the Saudis. Omani forward Amad Al Hosni of Al-Ahli will be looking for his Saudi teammates to give his squad an opening so that Al Hosni may score the clinching goal that sends Oman into the final ten in Asia. Minding the net for Oman is their sole European-based player, Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan, England).

Thailand, lest we forget, defeated Oman soundly in their first encounter, a 3-0 beating in Bangkok last September. However, problems with the two Thai goalscorers in that encounter have left the front line in shambles. Sompong Soleb will have to re-earn his coach's trust after personal issues have arisen, whereas Teerasil Dangda is racing to recover from a groin injury in time to be selected for the decider. An added obstacle comes in the form of an out-of-season matchday as the Thai domestic league is not in session. Compare this to the Omani domestic league, which is currently in full swing.

The Group B finales simultaneously kickoff at 6:00 Central Time. Three teams remain in contention for the two berths in the next stage. The current standings are as follows:

South Korea 10 pts +8

Lebanon 10 pts -2

Kuwait 8 pts +1

UAE OUT

South Korea fired their coach Cho Kwang-Rae after a shock 2-1 loss to Lebanon last November. In stepped Choi Kang-Hee, the coach of Jeonbuk Motors, winners of the 2011 K-League and finalists in the 2011 AFC Champions League. At forward, coach Choi has dropped two European-based strikers in Koo Ja-Cheol (Augsburg) and Ji Dong-Won (Sunderland) in favor of familiarity in the form of Jeonbuk's Lee Dong-Gook. Lee Dong-Gook will pair up top with captain and leading goalscorer Park Chu-Young (Arsenal, England). Park Chu-Young is one of only three players based outside of South Korea. The others are defender Lee Jung-Soo of the 2011 AFC Champions Al-Sadd (Qatar) and midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng of Celtic. Famed goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryung (Suwon Samsung) has been tasked with preventing any Kuwaiti shots from breaching his goalmouth. South Korea qualify for the next phase unless they lose and UAE do not defeat Lebanon. Kuwait's only qualification scenario is to win in Seoul. They bring an entirely domestic-based squad featuring three players with a century of caps: forward Bader Al-Mutwa (Al-Qadsia) and Al-Kuwait's midfielder duo of Waleed Ali and Jarah Al-Ateeqi.

Lebanon are but one step away from an astounding berth in the final ten in Asian qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Lebanon will secure qualification with a win or draw in Abu Dhabi against pointless UAE. Lebanon even advance with a loss so long as Kuwait do not win against South Korea! The Cedars will not be looking for outside help, however, and they will continue to count on consistent performers like attacking midfielder Akram Moghrabi (Nejmeh, Lebanon), midfielder and captain Roda Antar (Shandong Luneng, China), forward Hassan Maatouk (Ajman Club, UAE), defender Youssef Mohamad (Al-Ahli, UAE), and young defensive phenom Walid Ismael (Racing Beirut).

In Group E, Qatar go to Tehran to face Iran while Bahrain host Indonesia in Manama. The only way that Bahrain can advance in place of Qatar as the second team out of the group is if both Bahrain and Iran secure victory and Bahrain overcome a nine-goal goal differential against Qatar. Basically, the world should prepare itself to watch the stars of 2011 AFC Champions League winner Al-Sadd (goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr, defenders Abdullah Koni and Ibrahim Walid, midfielder Khalfan Ibrahim, and forward Yusef Ahmed) in the AFC Fourth Round while wearing Qatari national team jerseys.

Another relevant thing to bear in mind are the potential seedings for the final round draw. Based on my projections, here is how the seedings may wind up. Current FIFA and ELO rankings are given next to the country's name, though only the eccentric FIFA rankings (listed first) count for seeding. According to the ELO ranking, the teams of the Asian confederation are severely underrated by the FIFA rankings, which always overrate European teams.

Two teams will be in each of five pots for the AFC Fourth Round draw. An asterisk signals that the team has yet to secure qualification for the next phase.

22/16 Australia

30/18 Japan

34/25 South Korea*

47/29 Iran

77/57 Uzbekistan

79/66 Iraq

82/69 Jordan

95/79 Oman*

96/88 Qatar*

114/126 Lebanon*

Projected to be eliminated:

89/72 Saudi Arabia*