Familiar foes reunite in Asian showdowns

Asia's final qualifying round for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ reaches the second-half of the campaign on Wednesday, with four pairs of contenders meeting up in their first return matches.

Notably, Group B's runaway leaders Japan travel to Oman determined to maintain their momentum with a fourth victory, while bottom side Iraq entertain Jordan in Doha desperately seeking their first win.

Elsewhere, Iran from Group A will be hopeful of moving to the section summit with a home triumph over Uzbekistan. Lebanon, meanwhile, challenge hosts Qatar buoyed by their recent good form in what is a crucial match for both teams. Join FIFA.com as we preview these enticing match-ups in detail.

Final qualifying round, matchday 5 fixtures:
14 November
Group A: Iran-Uzbekistan, Qatar-Lebanon
Group B: Oman-Japan, Iraq-Jordan

The match
Oman-Japan
The great rivalry between the two sides needs no introduction, with the encounter at Muscat marking their eighth qualifying meeting. Their first dates back to 1997, when an emerging Japan carved out four points over two legs en-route to sealing their maiden qualification for the global extravaganza at France 1998.

Samurai Blue maintained their dominance with two victories on the road to Germany 2006, before another four points added to their undefeated record against Oman and helped pave the way for South Africa 2010 qualification. Their latest meeting saw Alberto Zaccheroni's Japan again prevail with an emphatic 3-0 home win.

Revenge, understandably, will be on the Omanis mind as Paul Le Guen's hosts seek to move into second place with their first-ever defeat of Japan. The Red Warriors overcame Jordan 2-1 in the last qualifier, although they were edged out by Estonia by the identical scoreline in a recent warm-up.

Star goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi is expected to continue his recent form with Wigan Athletic, while the team's goalscoring task lies on the shoulders of Amad Al Hosni, who famously scored the only goal as they stunned Australia this time last year.

Taking heart from their proud head-to-head record, the visitors received a further boost heading into the game with a 1-0 friendly win against France, although they lost 4-0 to a rampaging Brazil lately.

If there is anything to cause Zaccheroni concerns, it must be the loss of Shinji Kagawa due to a knee injury. Nuremberg midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake is likely to fill the gap left by the Manchester United star, while CSKA Moscow playmaker Keisuke Honda remains the man to lead the team.

The other attractions
In a match neither side can afford to lose, Iraq welcome Jordan for the fourth time in the campaign. With just two points from four outings, Zico's hosts are quickly facing a must-win scenario, and the under-pressure Brazilian could field a new-look line-up without stars such as Younis Mahmoud and Nashat Akram.

The Jordanians, under Iraqi Adnan Hamad, are inspired by the return of goalkeeper Amer Shafi and defender Basem Fathi, both of whom were suspended against for the 2-1 defeat against Oman. And with a second victory potentially taking them to second, the visitors won't easily let the chance slip away.

In-form Iran and Uzbekistan enter their second leg meeting with a shared aim of moving top with three points in Tehran. Level with leaders Korea Republic on seven points, a draw will be enough to move Carlos Queiroz's hosts to the summit. Mirdjalal Kasimov's visitors, though, face a must-win if they wish to target top spot.

Team Melli ran riot against Tajikistan in a pre-match friendly which they won 6-1, with Ali Karimi excelling by providing three assists. However, the Iran captain injured his hamstring and is ruled out for the Uzbekistan showdown. The White Wolves, meanwhile, arrive in Tehran with a full-strength line-up as they seek to avenge their 1-0 defeat in Tashkent.

Elsewhere, Lebanon coach Theo Bucker travels to Qatar keeping faith with the line-up skippered by Chinese-based Roda Antar, who scored the match-winning goal as they sealed a history-making win against Iran in the last outing. Sitting out the previous matchday with a bye, the Cedars flexed their muscles with a 2-1 defeat of Yemen.

Similarly, Qatar coach Paulo Autuori, showed unwavering belief in his squad despite losing to Uzbekistan 1-0 at home. And his faith paid dividends in the build-up with his side edging Iraq 2-1 in a friendly.

Players to watch
In what coach Zaccheroni has predicted to be a largely defensive game by hosts Oman, Japan will look to make their most of set-piece specialists Yasuhito Endo and Keisuke Honda.

The stat
13 - Japan has edged Australia to boast Asia's highest quota of European-based players, with thirteen players from their current squad plying their trade in Europe.

What they said
"The game in Oman will be important for us. We are going to have three away matches in the latter half of the qualifiers, and it will be down to how many points we can collect in those away games," Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni

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Asian press reflect on crucial results

Four sides entered Matchday 5 in the fourth round of Asian Zone qualifying desperately seeking their first victory, and three of them achieved just that to claw themselves back in to contention for places at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

Uzbekistan climbed from bottom to third in Group A with a 1-0 success in Qatar, while Oman and Australia recorded 2-1 wins over Jordan and Iraq respectively to move on to five points from four games apiece in Group B.

‘Victory has saved Socceroos' World Cup campaign’ was the headline in the Sydney Morning Herald. With three of their remaining four fixtures at home, Australia coach Holger Osieck was understandably optimistic following the result in Doha.

"It is better to operate from the upper position rather than to chase the pack," the German told the country's leading newspaper. "I think we are back in the race after a poor performance in Jordan (Australia lost 2-1 last month). Today we showed a decent performance and great spirit.

"We have finished the first part of qualifying with three very difficult road games and we managed to stay in the second position, which means we [would] qualify automatically. So now that we have the home games, that definitely gives us a better base for the upcoming games.”

Canberra Times, meanwhile, paid tribute to Tim Cahill, who cancelled out Alaa Abdul Zahra's opener, and substitute Archie Thompson, who netted the winner.

It wrote: "Cahill's brilliant header was typical of what he's done so often for the Socceroos over the past decade. Thompson's freshness proved critical, turning around what seemed a potentially disastrous night for Australia just minutes before."

Oman’s home victory left them third in their pool, only behind Australia on goal difference. The Oman Tribune wrote: “Oman took another step towards the 2014 FIFA World Cup after beating Jordan 2-1. The victory has left the race to reach the finals in Brazil wide open.”

Oman coach Paul Le Guen told the Oman Daily Observer: "I'm very happy with the result but the work is still only half done.”

Autuori calls for thought
In Group B, Iran pulled level on points with leaders Korea Republic by overcoming a numerical disadvantage to beat them 1-0 in Tehran, with captain Javad Nekounam scoring the only goal. "Ten-man Iran beat giants Korea Republic" was the headline in the Tehran Times, while Press TV hailed a "sweet victory".

Uzbekistan moved two points behind Korea Republic and Iran thanks to victory in Qatar, whose coach Paulo Autuori urged his charges to learn from defeat.

"We can’t become winners if we don’t realise why we lost," the Brazilian told Qatar's Gulf Times, "We need to analyse that loss and work harder. “We should now focus on the next match against Lebanon. We still have the chance to take the second place.”

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Victories excite Asian media

While fresh angles and differing views are usually encouraged by the media, those from Japan opted to join each other in lauding their team's performance after the 2-1 defeat of Oman on the latest matchday of Asia's final qualifying round for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

In a tense game during which the hosts threw everything forward as they sought their first win against Japan, Alberto Zaccheroni's visitors demonstrated determination and will power in overcoming the home crowd and their team. The result leaves them as the only side with an undefeated record in the campaign and well-placed to seal early qualification.

"Japan wins, on verge of reaching 2014 World Cup" was the headline of Mainichi Daily News, one of the country's oldest newspapers. The article read: "Japan leads Group B in Asian qualifying by eight points over Australia, Jordan and Oman, and is on the verge of reaching its fifth World Cup with three matches remaining."

Germany-based Hiroshi Kiyotake put Japan ahead with his first international goal after ten minutes, but having missed a couple of glorious chances, Oman equalised 13 minutes from time courtesy of Ahmed Mubarak's sublimely-taken free-kick. The Red Warriors threw everything forward in the time remaining but Shinji Okazaki settled the contest with just a minute left.

Kyodo, Japan's leading news agency, paid tribute to the prolific forward in an article entitled "Okazaki late show puts Japan on verge of World Cup berth".

The Stuttgart marksman, who is the tournament's joint top-scorer with seven goals, reflected on the memorable win while speaking to Japan Time. "I'm glad I was able to score because I didn't do much else all game," said a modest Okazaki, who had seen a header bounce just over in the first half. "We persevered and found a way to win in the end. We weren't in control today so I hope we can dominate to beat Jordan next time."

Mixed moods
While that victory cemented Japan’s dominance in Group B, struggling Iraq could let out a sigh of relief with a 1-0 win against Jordan for their first triumph of the campaign. The single goal by teenage striker Hammadi Ahmed proved valuable for Zico’s side, who moved level with both Australia and Oman on five points behind Japan. 

"The Jordan win has reignited our qualifying hopes," announced Aswat al Iraq, an independent news agency in the country. Daily Arabic-English newspaper Azzaman, meanwhile, stated: "A lone goal gives Iraq a precious win against Jordan on the road to Brazil".

In Group A, Uzbekistan stunned hosts Iran 1-0 to move into the section lead. The feat earned praise from national news agency UzA, who dubbed it as "a crucial victory" on the road to Brazil 2014.

Also joining them in celebratory mood was Qatar's Al Jazeera, who said their one-goal home win against Lebanon leaves "Qatar World Cup hopes still burning".

As the winners’ gain is the losers’ pain, Lebanon daily Assafir was left to rue their "diminishing hopes", while Al Akhbar remained philosophical by predicting the potential "end of a campaign" to be "a start of a new era".

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