Picture from Goal.com
The game between Korea and Lebanon just finished with Korea winning 3-0. Lebanon lost its first game against Qatar and then drew with Uzbekistan 1-1.
I didn’t do the math yet but I think our hopes of qualifying to the World Cup 2014 are close to nil now.
You should have probably done the math. Our chances aren’t that bad, they’re not great, but there’s still a possibility. South Korea will definitely qualify, but second place is between Uzbekistan, Iran & Qatar.
Second place is between those 3 teams and Lebanon.
Iran and South Korea will be very hard to beat and Qatar which is weaker than the previous two has beaten us already.
Like I said below, home games were always an advantage for us and we were able to take 1 point out of 3 home games which is not good.
Even so, qualifying is still a possibility, they’re not “close to nil”. If we lose another game to Qatar then our chances would be nearly impossible. Qatar is very inconsistent as a team, home advantage won’t really make a difference. Iran aren’t as good as they used to be, so there’s no reason to be so pessimistic.
Iran has scored over 17 goals in its last 8 games and are favorites in the group. They drew with Qatar on two occasions and beaten Uzbekistan.
Qatar is more consistent than we are and have beaten us in the last two occasions.
Korea is the top favorite.
Home advantage is crucial for any team.
At this point, I am not being pessimistic but realistic. Doesn’t mean I won’t be cheering for the team though.
I think you’re writing us off way too quickly. Today Iran and Qatar had a draw which is the best possible otucome today for us. If we win against Iran in September and uzbekistan denies qatar of a win they’re we’re right back in the race with 2nd place. Also, alot of people dont realize that this Lebanon team right now is nowhere near its full potential since Roda antar isnt playing. When he comes back from injury (hopefully), we’ll be a completely different team. Did you know that we hadnt lost a single game with Antar in the third round, but lost all the games when he wasnt playing?
Ahmad,
That’s not necessarily a good thing as we should be able to win with or without Antar. Such reliance on one player could damage or demoralize the team when he’s not there.
najib, all teams (including the world’s best such as barcelona, real madrid, manchester united, liverpool, etc etc) rely on a couple of star players.
and if you watch and analyse lebanon matches with roda, you will see that our midfield has composure with him around. we do not lose many balls in midfield with him around.
against qatar and south korea we lost many balls in midfield… and the link between defence and attack was shameful..
it might not be a good thing. but this is football. always a star player to push the team forward
User,
I agree that his great expertise is needed and is a huge boost to the team. All that I am saying is that we should be able to manage to a certain extent without him.
For example, we should have played very defensively against Korea and try get a draw rather than attack and lose the ball very often and concede 3 goals. There were huge gaps in the defense specially in counter-attacks.
Added to that, great teams can rely on super stars to make the difference for them but small team usually rely on a team effort to make a difference. Remember Greece in 2004?
btw Najib, 1st and 2nd place are guaranteed a place in the World Cup..
3rd place however plays 2 more games, one against the 3rd team of the other group, then the winner of this game plays a playoff team from south america group..
as the earlier commentors said, 2nd place is still in play, and 3rd place is very much still in play.
As long as the players don’t lose hope, and our people dont start bashing them and the coach (like last time), we should be fine
#GoLebanon
A,
I fully agree we should not bash our players nor the coach. I posted about it already few days ago, however the teams we are against are way more professional and prepared than we are and away games will never be in our favor. I salute the players for their efforts and it’s already great that we are here but we need something extra and substantial financial support for more intense training.
Let’s hope we will have time to prepare before the next round of games 3 months from now.
Usbekistan and Qatar are “way more professional and prepared”? We’re playing teams that are not as far ahead of us than you’d think.
Usbekistan is ranked 66, Qatar 91 and Korea 35.
Lebanon is ranked 143.
Do you really think we stand a chance against Iran? Would H.A. allow it? hahahha!