Quote Originally Posted by The Hacker View Post
The results so far with Japan topping their group beating Spain and Germany then Saudi beating Argentina were we being over harsh on Australia not coming top 2 easily in qualifying
I think Asia is stronger and more technical than we give credit. This had been a terrific tournament to showcase that and the strengths of Asia when they go toe to toe.
I think we should be aiming for automatic qualification as a pass mark, but also be aware that that is actually an achievement. Playoffs is like having to sit the test again.
We have lots of useless games in Asian qualifying though. And those early rounds don’t help the general perception of Asia when the news reports us winning games by 3,4,5,6 goals to nil. Like even the final round, it’s essentially 3 teams in each group playing for automatic qualification.

The leagues in Saudi, Japan and Korea are all improving and their base of players to select from is getting stronger. Which an outsider may say the same about the a league, with a lot of our squad playing in the a league in recent times. We tend to have a complex that our league is rubbish. But people will be looking at Leckie, duke and Goodwin to see where they are playing.


Another cracking day with Group H drama. These last round games have been terrific for a neutral this WC.