AFC Round Three: Group A Standings

Before we take a look at the teams involved in CONEMBOL qualifying which begins Oct. 7th, let's take a gander at where each group in Asian qualifying stands after two matches starting with group A.

Group A

1, Jordan 6 pts, +3 GD
2. China 3 pts, 0 GD
3. Iraq 3 pts, 0 GD
4. Singapore 0 pts, -3 GD

Jordan may be the most impressive team in World Cup qualifying so far, surprisingly sitting in first place in this group after two comfortable wins.

Hot on the heels of a successful Asian Cup for the country, where they reached the quarters, Jordan picked up a nice 2-0 win in Iraq before defeating favorite China 2-1 at home.

Hassan Abdel Fattah and Abdullah Deeb have been the integral members of the side. Fattah now has five goals in qualifying while Deeb tallied a goal in each of the first two matches in round three.

Next up for Jordan is an away match to bottom dwellers Singapore. A win there would almost solidify them as one of the two advancing sides.

China resides second in this group by virtue of having scored one more goal than Iraq. Despite sitting in one of the two qualifying spots for the next round, there is a lot of worry in the Chinese camp.

Its two performances have been far from convincing. They received some lucky breaks due to some controversial refereeing in a 2-1 home win against Singapore before putting in a poor display in Jordan.

Iraq stumbled to an opening 2-0 home defeat to Jordan, before getting back on track with a crucial 2-0 road win in Singapore. Its next match could prove decisive.

The Iraqis travel to China in the next fixture day and the match will go a long way in determining who advances out of the group. In a contest that pits two relatively new international managers, Jose Antonio Camacho and Zico, a draw would be absolutely huge for Iraq. Likewise, a win for China is a necessity for Camacho and company.

Unfortunately for Singapore, the results have not matched the country's performances so far. They took a deserved lead in China, before falling due to a debatable penalty call and having a shout for a penalty of their own turned down.

In its first home match, Singapore conceded twice in the second half to Iraq. They desperately need a win in order to attempt and claw their way into the top two, but face a tough task hosting group leaders Jordan.