Asian Trepidation After Tough 2014 World Cup Draw

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: December 8, 2013

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The 2014 World Cup draw Friday saw representatives of the world's leading footballing nations gather in Bahia to see their fate determined ahead of next year's competition. For Asia's finest, though, it was not a pleasant experience.

The AFC will have four representatives at next year's competition, headed by East Asian regulars Japan and South Korea. Australia, meanwhile, will be at their third consecutive tournament, while Middle East powerhouse Iran return to the global stage once more.

While Japan and Korea may feel that the draw was far from a disaster, both Australia and Iran saw their faint hopes of progression from the group stage of the competition lessened still by difficult draws.



Asia will be hopeful of at least one representative in the knockout stages of the tournament, but after Friday, there is a very real possibility that none will advance—despite the continent's definite progress in recent years.

 

How The Teams Fared

Australia: Group B (Spain, Netherlands, Chile)



The "Group of Death" is a phrase wheeled out at every tournament, and on this occasion, it is most definitely Group B to which it applies.

Sadly for Australia, they will be seen as the whipping boys of the pool, with European giants Spain and Netherlands, as well as South Americans Chile, all much stronger units at the present time.



Any win for the Socceroos would be a major success, while Ange Postecoglou would probably accept any result that sees his side emerge from the tournament with some kind of feel-good story to cling to.

The 2015 Asian Cup, which they will host, now looks to be a more realistic stage upon which to judge the side.

 

Japan: Group C (Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast)



There will be mixed feelings from Alberto Zaccheroni's side about their draw for th...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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