Post by xyz1000 on Dec 20, 2010 13:11:47 GMT 8
The AFC Challenge Cup
Playoffs (February 9 and 16, 2011)
Playoff 1: Bhutan vs Afghanistan
Playoff 2: Philippines vs Mongolia
Playoff 3: Chinese Taipei vs Laos
Playoff 4: Cambodia vs Macau
GROUP STAGE (March 20-31, 2011)
Group A: Myanmar, Palestine, Bangladesh, Winner of Playoff 2
Group B: Turkmenistan, India, Winner of Playoff 3, Pakistan
Group C: Tajikistan, Maldives, Winner of Playoff 4, Kyrgyzstan
Group D: North Korea, Winner of Playoff 1, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Might as well get started on the discussion of the next tournament for the Azkals. The AFC Challenge Cup is for (football) emerging nations in the Asia Football Conference which means the lowest ranked group. Let's remember that this is where we've languished for decades, and where we hope the AFF Suzuki Cup results have indicated climbing out from. Note that the "bigger" teams in the ASEAN region (Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.) are not in this tournament because they're not considered emerging nations.
Based on what I've read, on paper we should be able to beat Mongolia, and then in the group stage the teams to beat are Myanmar and Palestine. Palestine can be inconsistent depending on what team shows up -- Israel sometimes denies exit visas. The goal for this tournament should be to make it out of the group stage -- that is, to be in the top 2 of Group A.
If PFF decides for the Azkals to participate in the World Cup 2014 Qualifiers, then this tournament becomes important. That's because results on this tournament are more highly weighed for the FIFA ranking than the AFF Suzuki Cup. The Suzuki Cup is considered "friendly", I think (someone correct me on this if I'm wrong), which means the Azkals won't move up or down much based on the results. And it's important that we move up in ranking because if we go to around 140, the chances of drawing a much lower ranked team for the first stage of World Cup qualifying increases. If we stay at 150 or lower, the chances of drawing a much higher ranked team (as high as #6 in the AFC, could be China, N. Korea, Uzbekistan) increases.
Hoping for a good showing in this tournament.
Playoffs (February 9 and 16, 2011)
Playoff 1: Bhutan vs Afghanistan
Playoff 2: Philippines vs Mongolia
Playoff 3: Chinese Taipei vs Laos
Playoff 4: Cambodia vs Macau
GROUP STAGE (March 20-31, 2011)
Group A: Myanmar, Palestine, Bangladesh, Winner of Playoff 2
Group B: Turkmenistan, India, Winner of Playoff 3, Pakistan
Group C: Tajikistan, Maldives, Winner of Playoff 4, Kyrgyzstan
Group D: North Korea, Winner of Playoff 1, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Might as well get started on the discussion of the next tournament for the Azkals. The AFC Challenge Cup is for (football) emerging nations in the Asia Football Conference which means the lowest ranked group. Let's remember that this is where we've languished for decades, and where we hope the AFF Suzuki Cup results have indicated climbing out from. Note that the "bigger" teams in the ASEAN region (Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.) are not in this tournament because they're not considered emerging nations.
Based on what I've read, on paper we should be able to beat Mongolia, and then in the group stage the teams to beat are Myanmar and Palestine. Palestine can be inconsistent depending on what team shows up -- Israel sometimes denies exit visas. The goal for this tournament should be to make it out of the group stage -- that is, to be in the top 2 of Group A.
If PFF decides for the Azkals to participate in the World Cup 2014 Qualifiers, then this tournament becomes important. That's because results on this tournament are more highly weighed for the FIFA ranking than the AFF Suzuki Cup. The Suzuki Cup is considered "friendly", I think (someone correct me on this if I'm wrong), which means the Azkals won't move up or down much based on the results. And it's important that we move up in ranking because if we go to around 140, the chances of drawing a much lower ranked team for the first stage of World Cup qualifying increases. If we stay at 150 or lower, the chances of drawing a much higher ranked team (as high as #6 in the AFC, could be China, N. Korea, Uzbekistan) increases.
Hoping for a good showing in this tournament.