AFC Round Three: Group B Standings

Before taking a look at group B, check out the new FIFA rankings that were released today.

Group B

1. South Korea 4 pts, +6 GD
2. Kuwait 4 pts, +1 GD
3. Lebanon 3 pts, -4 GD
4. U.A.E. 0 pts, -3 GD

South Korea, the clear favorite in group B, opened its campaign with a crushing 6-0 win over Lebanon. Park Chu-Young celebrated his recent transfer to Arsenal with a hat-trick. The side dropped two points in Kuwait after a 1-1 draw where they took an early lead.

Complacency may be Korea's biggest enemy during this stage. That might have been the problem in Kuwait and must realize that cannot simply expect to win road games against weaker sides by simply showing up.

Next up for Korea is a home match with the U.A.E. and it should result in an easy three points for the South Koreans. They will be wary of another slip up and should cruise the rest of the round.

Kuwait took two major steps toward advancement in its matches. First they picked up three vital points in the U.A.E. against the team thought to be its main rival for that second spot. Yousef Nasser scored twice in the 3-2 victory.

The Middle Eastern side then picked up a brilliant result, drawing 1-1 with favorites South Korea. They now are on track to claim the second spot in group B and a win in the next match in Lebanon will help create a gap between them and the two chasers.

Lebanon has already exceeded its performance from last cycle. In 2010 qualifying, Lebanon lost all six games at this stage. After a 6-0 loss to South Korea, the side appeared headed down that road again.

However, a shocking 3-1 win over U.A.E. brought a new sense of confidence to the Lebanese camp. If the team can keep producing results at home, they have a shot to finish third in the group. A win in the next match against Kuwait will move them up to second and put pressure on other sides to produce results.

Finally, the U.A.E. is in shambles at the moment. An opening home defeat left the side with an uphill battle, but a loss to Lebanon now means that U.A.E. is extremely unlikely to grab one of the two advancing spots.

Favored to advance in this group along with South Korea, the U.A.E. fell flat on its face. Srečko Katanec was sacked as head coach after the first two matches. Newly appointed boss Abdullah Masfar has a tough challenge in traveling to South Korea for his first match in charge.