August 2011
Host nation Qatar have received confirmation of two of their guests for next summers World Cup tournament. The Gulf nation have been eagerly counting down the days until the start of the tournament, and the announcement of the first qualifiers is another milestone on the way to staging the World Cup.
Confirmed as travelling to the oil rich state will be neighbours Saudi Arabia and Japan, who both secured their qualification from the Asian Zone A last week. The two powerhouses of Asian football topped a five team group that also featured group favourites South Korea, unheralded Syria and the 1990 World Cup qualifiers United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia had secured their qualification with a game to spare. Inspite of this, they still continued their common practice of dispensing with the services of their national selector in favour of a more experienced foreign manager. Saad Al-Haabi departs the position of national coach despite leading his side undefeated through the final phase of qualification. His replacement is the respected, and much travelled Argentine, Ramon Diaz, who until his appointment, had been coaching local side Al-Ahli.
Japan meanwhile secured their qualification on the final match day of the group. Their position was strong heading into the final round, they knew a draw with South Korea would be enough to secure qualification. Ultimately, they beat their East Asian neighbours comfortably. The 3-0 scoreline in Osaka was significant not just for South Korea and Japan though. The UAE, level with Korea on points, having completed their schedule of games, qualified for a play-off on the back of the goals the Koreans conceded. Somewhat surprisingly, the defeat to rivals Japan has not cost Korean coach Hwang his position.
The UAE must wait for confirmation of their opponent for September's play-off series, whilst Japan and Saudi Arabia can begin preparations in earnest for next summer's big event.
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