Taiwan face 2007 Asian champions Iraq in FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifying after the two sides were drawn together in Group F at Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday.
Iraq, 86th in FIFA’s world rankings, are the top seeds in a group that also includes world No. 125 Vietnam, world No. 142 Thailand and world No. 159 Indonesia
Taiwan head coach Chen Kuei-jen said he is looking forward to exciting matches in a challenging group.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
“We know about the type of players in Vietnam, Indonesian and Thailand. They have good pace and are fast on the counterattack. We must improve our short-passing game and complementary movement for the matches against these Southeast Asian countries,” Chen said.
“I like the draws in this group,” Taiwan captain and midfield general Chen Po-liang said. “Maybe Iraq are a bit stronger, but all the other teams are fairly evenly matched and so even we have a fighting chance.”
“Now Taiwan’s soccer development needs to advance in stages and to improve at the international level. I also hope we can meet some of the really strong Asian teams, like Japan, South Korea and China, because matches against them can stir up the passion of fans, and can enhance the level of our play and broaden our horizons,” Chen said.
Interim soccer association chairman Liu Fu-tsai said it looked like an interesting group and Taiwan must train and prepare well for each upcoming qualifier.
“Our players will give it their very best effort,” Liu said.
Taiwan advanced to the group stages after defeating Brunei 2-1 on aggregrate in their preliminary-round qualifier and their first match in Group F is scheduled for June 11 when they are due to take on Indonesia at home.
Taiwan then host Thailand five days later.
Taiwan then travel to take on group favorites Iraq on Sept. 3, before hosting Vietnam five days later. They then travel to Indonesia on Oct. 13 and Thailand on Nov. 12, before hosting Iraq five days later.
Taiwan’s final match sees them visit Vietnam on March 24 next year.
The group winners and the four best runners-up advance to the final qualifying round for the World Cup finals to be hosted by Russia in 2018.
Group A sees the United Arab Emirates take on Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Timor-Leste and Malaysia, while Asian champions Australia face Jordan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh in Group B.
China were drawn in Group C and they face Qatar, the Maldives, Bhutan and Hong Kong, while Group D sees Iran take on Oman, India, Turkmenistan and Guam.
Japan face Syria, Afghanistan, Singapore and Cambodia in Group E, while South Korea take on Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar and Laos in Group G, and Uzbekistan face Bahrain, the Philippines, North Korea and Yemen in Group H.
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