With Indonesia's 0:4 defeat to Japan, the fifth round of the Asian round of 18 of the World Preliminary Championship has been completed, and the following new characteristics are presented in the standings:
1. This round is the first round of the home-and-away double round-robin system, the top 2 of the three groups have changed slightly from the previous round, and the Jordan team in Group B drew 0:0 with Iraq away, with 8 points, and rose to second place with goal difference. At present, the top 2 teams in the three groups are:
Group A: Iran, Uzbekistan
Group B: South Korea, Jordan
Group C: Japan, Australia
It is worth mentioning that the records of Iran, South Korea, and Japan, which ranked first in the group, are all 4 wins and 1 draw, with 13 points, showing the strength of the strong team.
Top 2 in the standings
According to the rules, the top 2 teams in the standings advance directly, while the teams in 3rd and 4th place enter the fourth stage to compete for a place in the promotion. The current 3rd and 4th teams are:
Group A: UAE, Qatar
Group B: Iraq, Oman
Group C: Saudi Arabia, China.
3rd and 4th place in the standings
2. The total number of goals in this round is 23, less than the previous round, but there are as many as 5 big scores. Qatar beat Uzbekistan 3-2 at home.
The specific results of these 5 big scores are:
North Korea lost 2:3 to Iran
Kuwait lost 1:3 to South Korea
The UAE beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0
Qatar defeated Uzbekistan 3-2
Indonesia lost 0:4 to Japan.
3. The biggest new feature of this round is the shocking reversal at the last moment, igniting the enthusiasm of fans to watch the game. China, Oman and Qatar staged a last-ditch show, strikingly similar in the standings, with all three teams rising to fourth place in their respective groups with this victory, greatly increasing their hopes of qualifying, bringing joy and joy to the fans.
(1) In the game of the Bahrain team 0:1 Chinese team, in the 88th minute, the No. 14 player of the Bahrain team received a long pass from his teammates, stopped the ball on his chest, and shot into the net one after another. However, through the VAR referee, the referee determined that the goal was offside and the goal was invalid.
Immediately after the Chinese team in the first minute of stoppage time after the 90th minute, substitute No. 21 Wang Haijian burst into the penalty area with the ball, crossed in front of the goal, and the unmarked Zhang Yuning easily broke the net and staged a stunner. The victory helped China move up to fourth place in the Group C standings and boost their hopes of qualifying for the fourth stage.
(2) In the 83rd minute of the Oman team's 1:0 Palestine game, the No. 7 player of the Oman team traveled a long way in the counterattack, and the shot was saved by the goalkeeper, and the No. 11 player Ghassani, who followed up on the left, scored easily. It was the only goal of the game, and Oman moved up to fourth place in Group B with three points.
(3) Qatar 3:2 Uzbekistan team game, in the 12th minute of stoppage time in the 90th minute, the score was 2:2, the Qatar team made a long pass to the penalty area in the middle, made a header to Mendes, stopped the ball, and then shot with his left foot, the ball hit the goal frame and bounced into the net, completing the stunner. With this goal, Qatar also rose to fourth place in the Group A standings.
Attached: The standings after the fifth round of the top 18 of the Asian region of the World Preliminaries.
Group A's points situation
Group B standings
Group C standings