Group B for the third round of Asian qualifying features Kuwait, Lebanon, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Here Korea is the obvious favorite while there should be quite the battle for the second spot. Three of the four teams in this group have made the World Cup in their history.
Kuwait
FIFA rank: 95
2010 qualifying result: Eliminated in round three with four points from six games
How they got here: Defeated the Philippines 5-1 on aggregate in round two
Kuwait's biggest period of success came in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this time they won the Asian Cup in 1980, and finished second in 1976 and third in 1984. The country's biggest achievement was qualifying for the 1982 World Cup. At the tournament, Kuwait drew its opening game with Czechoslovakia before falling to France 4-1 and England 1-0.
However, recent history has not been so kind to Kuwait. They did not qualify for the 2007 Asian Cup and finished bottom of their group in the third round of 2010 qualifying. That group included Iran and U.A.E. as the two advancing teams, as well as Syria who placed third. Kuwait's lone win in that round was a 4-2 home victory over Syria. The team did qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup.
In that tournament Kuwait only scored one goal and finished with three losses. An opening 2-0 loss to China was followed by a 2-1 defeat to group winner Uzbekistan. Kuwait finished the tournament by getting whipped by Qatar 3-0. Bader Al-Mutwa scored the lone goal for Kuwait in the group stage, a penalty kick.
Kuwait was given one of the harder draws in round two, a feisty Philippines side. They dealt with the potential threat well, starting the tie with a 3-0 leg victory at home before following up with a come from behind 2-1 triumph away.
Since the Asian Cup disappointment, the side is unbeaten and has picked up some great results. In March, Kuwait tied Asian Cup quarterfinalist Jordan 1-1 and beat rival Iraq 1-0. Prior to the second round of qualifying, Kuwait played a series of matches where they beat fellow group B member Lebanon 6-0, drew Oman 1-1 and defeated Iraq again 2-0. Earlier this month the side drew World Cup participant North Korea 0-0.
Kuwait has been coached by Serbian Goran Tufegdžić since 2009. The squad almost all come from the domestic league, the Kuwaiti Premier League. The league has been won by Al-Qadsia for the last three years and a majority of these players are called into the national side. Bader Al-Mutwa is Kuwait's best player at the moment, with 30 goals in 83 caps. Young forward Yousef Nasser has 11 goals in 20 caps, and is a player with a bright future at the young age of 20.
In all likelihood Kuwait will be battling U.A.E. for the second spot in this group and advancement. The first match is huge for Kuwait, they travel to U.A.E. and if they can pick up a point it will be a massive result.
Lebanon
FIFA rank: 160
2010 qualifying result: Eliminated in round three with zero points from six games
How they got here: Defeated Bangladesh 4-2 on aggregate in round two
Lebanon is most likely the worst team in Asia still left in the competition. They have the lowest FIFA rank and its recent results have been poor.
The program seemed to go in a self-imposed exile in 2010, not playing a game in over a year. This caused its FIFA ranking to plummet, and in April it was 178, Lebanon's worst ever. Luckily for Lebanon, the AFC chose to seed its teams for qualifying by performance in the last cycle and not current ranking, meaning Lebanon got a bye to the second round and was seeded.
In 2010 qualifying, Lebanon made the group stage by defeating India 6-3 on aggregate. They were placed in one of the weaker groups of the round, with Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Uzbekistan, but unfortunately they had a dismal performance. The side failed to accumulate any points in the round, losing all six games and only scoring three goals while conceding 14.
In the second round of qualifying in July, Lebanon was drawn with Bangladesh. They capitalized on the home advantage in the first leg, putting four past Bangladesh for a comfortable lead. Despite falling in the away leg 2-0, Lebanon had done enough to make it back to the group stage once again.
Lebanon's first two games back from its exile were both defeats. A 6-0 destruction by fellow group member Kuwait was followed by a 1-0 loss to Oman, then a 6-2 defeat to group member U.A.E. Earlier in the month, the Lebanese had an improved performance against Syria, falling 3-2 and also welcoming a new head coach.
Emile Rustom was fired as head coach after the second round of qualifying and former head coach, German Theo Bucker was appointed to take over. Bucker led the team during 2002 qualifying and has returned to attempt to help the resurrection of Lebanese football. In an interview with FIFA.com this month, Bucker reminded everyone "that nothing is impossible".
Lebanon's squad is made up of players from its weak domestic league. Not a lot of information is known about its players, although most play for teams in and around Beirut. Hassan Maatouk is the side's best scoring threat. He scored the opening goal against Bangladesh and has 11 goals in 21 appearances for the country.
Any points gained during this group stage will be a much-improved performance for Lebanon after its disastrous results during the last cycle. The side has almost no chance of advancing and if they do not finish in last place it will be a huge surprise.
South Korea
FIFA rank: 33
2010 qualifying result: Qualified for World Cup, lost in the round of 16 2-1 to Uruguay
How they got here: Received bye to the third round
South Korea is attempting to make its eighth consecutive World Cup and ninth overall. Its best result is fourth place overall, which they obtained at the World Cup it co-hosted with Japan in 2002.
The side easily qualified for the 2010 tournament in South Africa, not losing any of its games in both group rounds, finishing in first place of its group in the final round. Placed in group B in South Africa, Korea made the knockout round on the strength of a 2-0 win over Greece and a 2-2 with Nigeria.
In the round of 16 South Korea squared off against Uruguay. After falling behind in the first ten minutes, Korea fought back and equalized in the 68th. However, Uruguay took the lead for good in the 80th minute when Luis Suarez scored his second of the game to send the Asian nation home.
Cho Kwang-Rae took over as coach of the side following the World Cup, and his first tournament in charge was the 2011 Asian Cup in January, which Korea won the first two editions of, in 1956 and 1960.
Korea was placed in group C along with one of the favorites, Australia. The side would finish with seven points in the group stage, but place second in the group due to Australia's superior goal difference. South Korea opened the cup with a 2-1 victory over Bahrain, followed by a 1-1 draw against Australia and a 4-1 demolition of India.
In the quarterfinals Korea came up against group D winner Iran. After a scoreless 90 minutes, the match entered extra time. Yoon Bit-Garam scored in the 105th minute to put Korea into the semifinals where they faced rival Japan. In an enthralling match, Korea once again was forced to go into extra time after finishing tied at one. Japan scored early in extra time, but Korea came back and equalized with seconds remaining to force penalty kicks. However, Korea failed to make any of its shots and eventual champion Japan advanced. Korea would win the third-place match against Uzbekistan.
Since the Asian Cup, the team achieved some great results in the spring. A 0-0 draw with Turkey was followed by a 4-0 win over Honduras and 2-1 wins against Serbia and Ghana. In early August the recent run of good form was ended by a 3-0 defeat to Japan, not what Korea needed before they entered qualifying.
Having lost Park Ji-Sung to international retirement after the Asian Cup, Korea has had to reshape its squad. It is also without Bolton winger Lee Chung-Yong, who is out due to injury. Here is the squad called in for the first two qualifying games.
Goalkeepers: Kim Young-kwang (Ulsan Hyundai), Kim Jin-hyun (Cerezo Osaka, Japan), Jung Sung-ryong (Suwon Bluewings)
Defenders: Kim Young-kwon (Omiya Ardija, Japan), Lee Jae-seong (Ulsan Hyundai), Lee Jung-soo (Al Sadd, Qatar), Cho Young-cheol (Albirex Niigata, Japan), Cha Du-ri (Celtic, Scotland), Hong Jeong-ho (Jeju United), Chul Hong (Seongnam Ilhwa)
Midfielders: Ki Sung-yueng (Celtic, Scotland), Kim Bo-kyung (Cerezo Osaka, Japan), Kim Jae-sung (Pohang Steelers), Kim Jung-woo (Sangju Sangmu), Nam Tae-hee (Valenciennes, France), Park Hyun-beom (Suwon Bluewings), Yeom Ki-hun (Suwon Bluewings), Lee Yong-rae (Suwon Bluewings), Yoon Bit-garam (Gyeongnam FC), Lee Keun-ho (Gamba Osaka, Japan)
Forwards: Park Chu-young (AS Monaco, France), Ji Dong-won (Sunderland, England), Son Heung-min (Hamburg, Germany), Jung Jo-gook (Auxerre, France)
Park Chu-young is the captain and best goalscoring threat up front. Ji Dong-Won of Sunderland is only 20 and has been very impressive during his brief international career. In the midfield, Ki Sung-Yueng and Koo Ja-Cheol are young and talented while on defense Cha Du-Ri is counted for experience and calm.
Korea should be able to cruise through this round and finish top of the group, most likely unbeaten. Ideally for the side, they are able to integrate new, younger players as the round progresses.
United Arab Emirates
FIFA rank: 108
2010 qualifying result: Eliminated in final group stage with one point from eight games
How they got here: Defeated India 5-2 on aggregate in round two
The U.A.E. has only qualified for one World Cup, in 1990. They lost all three games in Italy, falling 2-0 Colombia, 5-1 to West Germany and 4-1 to Yugoslavia. The 1990s was the country's best period of success, finishing fourth at the 1992 Asian Cup and coming in second place in 1996. The U.A.E. hosted this edition and lost in the finals on penalties to Saudi Arabia.
After failing to qualify for the 2000 Asian Cup, U.A.E. has made the last three editions of the tournament, but has been unable to advance further than the group stage. In 2011, the side's lone point was a scoreless draw against North Korea. The other two games were losses to Iran and Iraq, 3-0 and 1-0 respectively.
The U.A.E. did make the final round of qualifying last edition. After defeating Vietnam 6-0 on aggregate to make the first group stage, the country was placed with Iran, Syria and Kuwait.
The side just barely advanced out of the group, finishing tied for second with Syria on eight points. Due to a better goal differential, U.A.E.'s was zero while Syria was negative one, U.A.E. moved onward.
Placed in the tougher of the two groups in the final round, the team struggled for points and only picked up one due to a draw versus Iran. South Korea and North Korea qualified to the World Cup from the group while Saudi Arabia moved on to the playoff.
U.A.E. was paired with India in the second round and convincingly navigated through a potentially tricky tie, winning the first leg 3-0 and drawing the second 2-2. On August 25th, the side prepared for its opening group games by playing a friendly against Qatar. They won 3-1, a huge positive result for its chances in qualifying.
All of the squad plays in the domestic league in the U.A.E. The team is coached by Srečko Katanec, a Slovenian who has been in charge since 2009. Prior to that he coached Macedonia for a few years. Forward Ismail Matar is who the side will count on to score goals in this round.
The U.A.E. has a decent shot at advancing, and it should come down to them or Kuwait for second placed. If the country can beat Kuwait at home it will set them up nicely for accomplishing its goal of moving on.
Prediction
South Korea should easily win the group while the U.A.E. and Kuwait battle for the other spot. Ultimately, the U.A.E. edges Kuwait out while Lebanon has a great chance of finishing with zero points.
1. South Korea
2. United Arab Emirates
3. Kuwait
4. Lebanon
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