Final 12 seek early advantage on the road to Russia
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 31, 2016
This coming Thursday will see Asia's twelve remaining Russia 2018 hopefuls do battle across the length and breadth of the continent in the hope of getting off to the perfect start in the final Group Stage.
Korea Republic v China
Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul
The Taeguk Warriors haven't missed a World Cup for over thirty years, appearing in eight successive tournaments since 1986, and Uli Stielike's current crop are widely expected to continue that streak by qualifying for Russia 2018.
By way of contrast, China have tasted the rarified air of the World Cup finals just once, on Korean soil in 2002, but football is undergoing a rapid growth in the world's most populous country, one that would be enhanced further by a second appearance on the global stage.
Korea Republic were the only team to win all eight matches in the first Group Stage, scoring 27 unanswered goals in the process, and their squad includes Europe-based stars Son Heung-min, Ki Sung-yueng and Koo Ja-cheol as well as uncapped 20-year-old striker Hwang Hee-chan.
China's squad all play for locally-based clubs, except for 19-year-old Vitesse forward Zhang Yuning, with red-hot Shanghai SIPG winger Wu Lei likely to cause headaches for the Korean defence.
Wu is no stranger to the majority of Korea's defenders, four of whom play for Chinese Super League clubs themselves.
Uzbekistan v Syria
Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent
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Uzbekistan recovered from a shock 4-2 loss to DPR Korea to comfortably advance from the first Group Stage and give themselves another shot at history in 2018 after narrowly missing out on qualifying for their first ever FIFA World Cup four years ago.
Their opponents, Syria, defied the odds, and immense obstacles at home, to win six from eight matches in the first Group Stage, and qualify for Asia's final 12 as one of the best runners-up.
Uzbekistan feature an imposing mix of experienced stars such as former AFC Player of the Year Server Djeparov and long-term goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov as well as a new wave of young talent, headlined by Beijing Guoan pair Igor Sergeev and Egor Krimets.
Syria are largely devoid of such high-profile names, but possess a genuine goal threat in Omar Khribin. The 22-year-old has already scored seven goals on the road to Russia 2018 and looms large as Syria's key player in the first competitive meeting between the two nations since the 1996 AFC Asian Cup.
Iran v Qatar
Azadi Stadium, Tehran
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Iran have regularly had the better of Qatar in recent years and haven't lost to their West Asian counterparts in a competitive encounter since 1997, but Qatar have shown steady improvement and were the equal highest scorers in the first Group Stage with 29 goals.
Team Melli's squad is one of considerable quality; midfield stars Ashkan Dejagah and Andranik Teymourian are still going strong and the young talent in Carlos Queiroz's squad is equally exciting.
Wingers Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Torabi have already shown their quality on the Asian stage, as has 21-year-old starlet Sardar Azmoun, who has been in sparkling form for FC Rostov in UEFA Champions League qualifying.
Azmoun's 19-year-old Rostov teammate Saeid Ezatolahi became Iran's youngest international goalscorer when he found the net against Turkmenistan in the first group stage of 2018 qualifying.
Qatar's 3-0 promising win friendly win over Thailand last week suggests they will arrive at one of Asia's most imposing venues, the Azadi Stadium, confident of a favourable result against Asia's highest-ranked national team.
Veteran striker Sebastian Soria netted a hat-trick in Qatar's 3-2 win over Jordan a week earlier, and the 32-year-old is now within four caps of Wesam Rizik's all-time national team appearance record.
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