DRAW: RUSSIA 2018 / UAE 2019 JOINT QUALIFICATION ROUND 2

Kuala Lumpur: Asia's 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup hopefuls learned their fate on Tuesday when the draw for the second round draw of continental joint qualifiers was held in the Malaysian capital.

Some 40 sides were placed in eight groups of five teams each for the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Draw:

Group A: 1. UAE 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Palestine 4. Timor-Leste 5. Malaysia 

Group B: 1. Australia 2. Jordan 3. Tajikistan 4. Kyrgyzstan 5. Bangladesh

Group C: 1. China 2. Qatar 3. Maldives 4. Bhutan 5. Hong Kong

Group D: 1. Iran 2. Oman 3. India 4. Turkmenistan 5. Guam

Group E: 1. Japan 2. Syria 3. Afghanistan 4. Singapore 5. Cambodia

Group F: 1. Iraq 2. Vietnam 3. Thailand 4. Indonesia 5. Chinese Taipei

Group G: 1. Korea Republic 2. Kuwait 3. Lebanon 4. Myanmar 5. Laos

Group H: 1. Uzbekistan 2. Bahrain 3. Philippines 4. DPR Korea 5. Yemen

What Next:

The teams will compete according to a double round robin format, and the Round 2 qualification matches will be held from June 11, 2015 to March 29, 2016.

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup finals.

Fixture Schedule:

Matchday 1 – June 11, 2015 = 3 v 2 and 5 v 4
Matchday 2 – June 16, 2015 = 4 v1 and 5 v 3
Matchday 3 – September 3, 2015 = 1 v 5 and 2 v 4
Matchday 4 – September 8, 2015 = 5 v 2 and 3 v1
Matchday 5 – October 8, 2015 = 4 v 3 and 2 v 1
Matchday 6 – October 13, 2015 = 2 v 3 and 4 v 5
Matchday 7 – November 12, 2015 = 1 v 4 and 3 v 5
Matchday 8 – November 17, 2015 = 5 v 1 and 4 v 2
Matchday 9 – March 24, 2016 = 2 v 5 and 1 v 3
Matchday 10 – Match 29, 2016 = 3 v 4 and 1 v 2

source : afc.com

AFC U23 Qualifiers : DPR Korea 4-0 Philippines

Bangkok: DPR Korea started their AFC U-23 Championship 2016 qualifying campaign with a 4-0 win over the Philippines at the Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand on Friday.

Ra Pong-gi’s side led the match 2-0 at the break before two substitutes added two more goals after the interval in the Group G game.

Ri Hyong-jin opened the scoring on 17 minutes before So Kyong-jin doubled the lead with a penalty kick in first-half stoppage time.

Jang Ok-chol, who came off the bench to replace Ho Myong-chol on 57 minutes, made it 3-0 five minutes later.

Pak Hyon-il, substitute for Mun Hyok on 14 minutes, scored the North Koreans’ fourth and final goal on 80 minutes.

DPR Korea will next play Cambodia while the Jim Fraser-led Philippines will take on hosts Thailand on Sunday.

Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will join hosts Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship 2016, with January’s 16-team competition also serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio.

afc.com

DPR Korea U22 friendlies - Updated results

Friday 6. March Jordan 2-2 DPR Korea

Monday 9. March Jordan 3-1 DPR Korea

Wednesday 11. March : Saudi Arabia 2-1 DPR Korea

Friday 13. March : Saudi Arabia 0-1 DPR Korea




AFC U23 Championship qualifiers in Bangkok :


27. March : DPR Korea - Philippines

29. March : DPR Korea - Thailand

31. March : DPR Korea - Cambodia

UAE Olympic lads blank North Korean counterparts

Dubai 

The UAE Olympic national team edged North Korea 2-0 in a friendly at the Kalba Stadium on Wednesday. The match is part of the Whites’ buildup for the upcoming AFC U-23 Cup qualifiers scheduled to be held at the same venue from March 27 to 31.

Mohammed Hussain struck for the home team in the 89th minute and Sultan Saif doubled the score-line in the injury time.

The UAE assistant coach Noruddin Al Abidi said he’s quite satisfied with the good start pointing out that it was a real test against a team of good repute as winners of the silver medal of the recent Asian Games.

“We opted to try all the players who were called for the gathering to assess their true respective forms and to what extent they have absorbed the directives and guidance of their new head coach Dr. Abdulla Misfer.

“It’s great news that the outcome was promising and the result is acceptable for us. But, most importantly, the strong fight spirit stood revealed. The players have definitely benefited from the five-day short training camp and we are confident that they are capable of doing better in the near future and show the best of them,” he added.

“We have enough time to increase the tempo and hopefully we will be able to implement all our way of thinking to fine-tune the squad for the tough mission ahead. There’s too much work to be done and more to come from the boys,” he said.

UAE website

AFC U23 Championship qualifiers - North Korea playing two friendlies

North Korea U22 NT playing two friendlies against Saudi Arabia U22 on 11 and 13 March in UAE.

North Korea U22 preparing for AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers (Olympics qualifiers) in Thailand later in March.

DPR KOREA TO TINKER WITH PERSONELL IN SEARCH OF ELUSIVE WIN

Canberra: Coach Jo Tong-sop vowed to change both personnel and strategies in search of already-eliminated DPR Korea’s first AFC Asian Cup win in 35 years when they take on Group B winners China at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

DPR Korea exited the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 after a 4-1 defeat by three-time winners Saudi Arabia in Melbourne on Wednesday following an opening 1-0 loss to 2011 fourth-placed side Uzbekistan.

Although both teams’ places in Group B have already been decided - China as group winners and DPR Korea finishing in fourth regardless of the result in Australia’s capital - Jo (pictured, left) will look to finish his campaign with three points, thereby improving upon the Chollima’s performance in the 2011 edition when they were eliminated from the group stages after picking up a single point.

“For the next match there will be a slight change in formation and the selection list to get the best possible result in this tournament,” said Jo, who was also in charge of the national team during the AFC Asian Cup four years ago.

“The match against Uzbekistan I think we lost because we did not anticipate correctly their attack down the wings, our defence was not prepared for that.

“And against Saudi Arabia, the players were too excited once they conceded the second goal and did not defend properly. That is the main reason we were tactically defeated.

“I don’t want to blame the players; my leadership, my instructions, my plans and projects were not good enough. Training and playing tactics for the match was not perfect; I think that was the reason for the losses.”

Neighbours and Sunday’s opponents China are currently on an upward curve, though, having qualified for the AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals for the first time since they hosted the tournament in 2004.

And Jo knows that his side will be in for a tough challenge should they wish to gain a first continental championship win since the 1980 tournament.

“I watched the two games of China and the Chinese team is good in terms of physical fitness and they are technically and tactically prepared well. The combination and leadership of the coach is very good, I think,” said Jo.

“I don’t feel any difference between this (match) and previous matches. As we did in the last matches we do our best to show our full skill, there is no difference.

“Like the other teams, we also wanted to prove our skills when we prepared for the tournament and it did not work out very well.

“After this tournament when we get back to our homes we will analyse the matches and what was lacking and what has to be covered, everything, and we will find out the way to improve it.”

afc.com

AFC Asian Cup : DPR Korea 1-4 Saudi Arabia