Asian World Cup Qualifying for 2010 will be halfway over after this round of matches and we will be closer to knowing who will be in for sure and who will be vying for the playoff between the two 3rd place teams in each group.
In Group 1, Japan and Australia could solidify their places in the The Great Tournament if they can beat Bahrain & Uzbekistan, respectively. The drama in Group 1 will be who will finish 3rd and get into the playoff with 3rd place of Group 2.
The fight for the top two places in Group 2 is more dramatic. Right now, South Korea leads the group with 8 points, North Korea has 7, Iran has 6, and Saudi Arabia has 4. Two titanic matches figure to shake up the group and clarify some things.
First, its Iran vs. Saudi Arabia. This matchup of heavyweights in the region has massive implications especially to the Saudis. If the Saudis lose in Tehran to Team Melli then the Green Falcons will have to start thinking about 2014 qualification. Tehran's Azadi Stadium is a nightmare for opposition and one of the most intimidating stadiums in the world. The Saudis will have pull out a great performance to take the 3 points and keep their hopes for South Africa alive.
4 days later, its North vs South as the Korean nations battle for 1st place. The winner of this match will get bragging rights and have one foot in South Africa while the loser will put themselves in the middle of a fight with the Iran-Saudi Arabia winner for an automatic qualifying spot.
The AFC will have some high drama during this round of qualifying as we are just over a year away from the 1st African World Cup. Below are the fixtures for the upcoming qualifiers, the home teams are listed first:
Saturday, March 28
Korea DPR (N. Korea) vs. United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan vs. Qatar
Iran vs. Saudi Arabia
Japan vs. Bahrain
Wednesday, April 1
Bahrain vs. Qatar
Australia vs. Uzbekistan
Korea Republic (S. Korea) vs. Korea DPR (N. Korea)
Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates
Here are the group standings heading into this round of qualifying:
Group 1
Group 2
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