Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The race to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup is set to continue on Tuesday with four of the six teams in the final play-off round set to lock horns.
South Asian champions India, 2007 AFC Asian Cup co-hosts Malaysia, Cambodia, Tajikistan and Yemen all recorded comfortable aggregate victories in June to take their place alongside 12 other nations that had advanced following the 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifiers, leaving Laos, Timor-Leste, Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Bhutan battling out in the second and final phase of the play-offs, which conclude in October.
The Teams
Timor-Leste became the first side to find themselves facing another two-legged fixture to keep their Asian Cup dream alive when 2010 AFF Championship winners Malaysia recorded a second 3-0 win over their regional rivals, with the 6-0 aggregate defeating seeing the Timorese have to take on Chinese Taipei.
Chinese Taipei, who finished third and fourth respectively at the 1960 and 1968 AFC Asian Cups, lost out in the first round of the play-offs to Cambodia, with a 2-2 home draw in the first leg proving to be the undoing of Toshiaki Imai’s side who went down 2-0 in the return fixture in Phnom Penh.
A 2-0 home defeat also cost the Maldives, with their first-leg loss to Yemen also resulting in head coach Ricki Herbert losing his job. Caretaker coach Ismail Mahfooz was unable to mastermind a reversal of fortune in the second leg as the 2003 SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Championship runners-up fell to an identical scoreline in Doha. Darren Stewart is now the man in charge.
Those defeats set up a crucial clash with Laos, who were humbled ultimately 7-1 on aggregate by an India side that had to come from a goal down before running out compressive 6-1 second-leg winners on home soil.
Bangladesh were also on the receiving end of a heavy defeat in their first round play-off, with a 6-0 aggregate defeat to Tajikistan taking the former South Asian champions’ AFC Asian Cup qualifying drive down to the wire.
The Bengal Tigers, who defeated the Maldives to win the 2003 SAFF Champions, will face familiar foes in the form of Bhutan, with the South Asian sides renewing acquaintances following their meeting at last year’s regional tournament, with Bangladesh beating the Himalayan kingdom 3-0 in the Group Stage of India 2015 last December.
The three victorious sides in the final play-offs will complete the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying picture, with 24 teams competing for one of 12 remaining slots on offer at the 17th edition of Asia’s flagship tournament.
The Fixtures
September 6
Maldives v Laos
Bangladesh v Bhutan
October 8
Timor-Leste v Chinese Taipei
October 10
Bhutan v Bangladesh
October 11
Laos v Maldives
Chinese Taipei v Timor-Leste