When Divock Origi scored a goal to put Liverpool 0-2 up in the UEFA Champions League Final, it all but confirmed the Reds’ victory. Minutes later, the full-time whistle was blown, putting an end to the game – and the 2018/19 club football season.

After Origi and his teammates lifted club football’s greatest trophy, attention now shifts to international football. Europe will resume qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2020, with the exception of four teams, who will play in the inaugural UEFA Nations League finals. North America, Africa, and South America all have their showpiece tournaments: the Gold Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, and Copa América. A combined 50 teams will try to win their continent’s greatest honour.

The two teams that played in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup final, Japan and Qatar, have been invited to go to Brazil to play as guest teams in the Copa América, a chance for Asian football to play against some of the world’s best players. But whilst Asia’s two best teams will play in South America, players the continent’s twelve worst are also preparing for some of the biggest games of their lives.

Although the 2022 FIFA World Cup doesn’t begin until more than four years, as the action controversially kicks off in November, rather than June, for safety reasons, six countries will be eliminated by the end of the month. The first round of qualifiers in the Asian section will begin on Thursday in Ulaan-Baatar, when Mongolia play Brunei Darussalam. The top thirty-five out of Asia’s 46 FIFA member countries get a bye – the Japanese and Qataris included – but the bottom twelve will have to play straight two-legged matches. The finals in Qatar look a long way away, with the complete qualification structure not even confirmed by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation). What is known is that there will be four rounds, culminating in November 2021. Whatever is decided by the AFC, the teams do know that lose these ties, and the team’s World Cup dream will be over.

The draw was seeded, with the six higher-ranked teams in Pot A playing at home in the first leg. So whilst the world’s media will be paying more attention to Brazil, let’s have a look at the ties facing the unsung heroes of Asia’s worst footballing nations.

Mongolia vs Brunei Darussalam

First leg – 6 June 2019, 10:00 UK, 17:00 local, Football Center MFF, Ulaan-Baatar

Second leg – 11 June 2019, 13:15 UK, 20:15 local, National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Bandar Seri Begawan

Mongolia, who play on an artificial pitch, will play their first games since November when they played in qualifiers for the East Asian Football Federation “E-1 Football Championship” – losing all three games to North Korea, Hong Kong, and Chinese Taipei. The squad they took to that qualifying tournament in Taipei consisted entirely of players that play in the Mongolian Premier League. They do have some international influence in the form of German manager Michael Weiß, who is in his third national team job, after managing the Philippines and Rwanda. Weiß also manages the U23 team, who lost both their matches at a friendly tournament in Indonesia.

That being said, it is not completely hopeless for them. Their team is relatively young, with only two players that went to Taipei, defensive duo Garidmagnai Bayasgalan and Tsedenbal Norjmoo, being above the age of 30. A new era will hopefully help their attacking woes: no player has ever scored more than eight goals for the Mongolian national team. In qualification to Russia 2018, they were knocked out at this stage by Timor-Leste 5-1 on aggregate in March 2015. FIFA later awarded the games to Mongolia after it was revealed the Timorese had played several naturalised Brazilian players, but by 2017 it was too late to replay the qualifiers. Cheated last time, Mongolia can hope for a fairer fight against Brunei Darussalam.

Brunei’s team, used to play as a club side in Malaysia’s league (similar to Monaco in the French league) but now have moved into international football. They prepared for these two fixtures with a friendly against Chinese second-tier side Beijing Sport University. That game finished in a 0-0 draw, with the Bruenians winning on penalties. Brunei’s last competitive fixtures were qualifiers for the AFF (ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Football Federation) Football Championship, where they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Timor-Leste. With one exception, their entire squad plays in Brunei – either for teams in the local DST Super League, or for DPMM FC, who play in the Singaporean league. The exception to this is forward Adi Said, who has recently been released from Malaysian second-tier team UiTM FC. Him and his brother, record scorer Shahrazen Said form a strike partnership, with fifteen goals between them for the national team. They are managed by Dutchman Robbie Servais, who was part of the backroom staff for Australia in the 2018 World Cup, but will enter his first job as a senior coach.

In 2002, Brunei entered qualifiers, but they did not in 2006 or 2010. FIFA suspended the country’s FA in 2008, and nearly expelled them in 2010, but in 2011 they were re-instated, by which time they had missed 2014 qualifiers. In 2018 they did enter, but were knocked out at the first hurdle by Chinese Taipei 2-1 on aggregate. After a shock 1-0 victory in Koahsiung, 18,000 came to Bandar Seri Begawan for the second leg, but the Taiwanese won 2-0. Again they will be second favourites, but Servais believes they have a chance to progress. Adding to his task will be the injuries to several players, most notably captain Faiq Bolkiah, who plays for English side Leicester City.

Laos vs Bangladesh

First leg – 6 June 2019, 12:30 UK, 18:30 local, Stade National, Vientiane

Second leg – 11 June 2019, 14:00 UK, 19:00 local, Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

Laos is another team in ASEAN, and unlike Brunei Darussalam, they were given a bye straight to the finals off the AFF Championship in 2018 (in fact, all of the AFF teams apart from Brunei and Timor-Leste were). There they lost all of their games with a team comprised of players entirely from the Laos Premier League or in nearby Thailand – with players from each of the top four leagues. The star player on the Lao team is undoubtedly winger Soukaphone Vongchiengkham, who plays for Thai League 1 side Chainat Hornbill. The squad that played in the AFF Championship had five Thai-based players, but Vongchiengkham is the only one that plays in the top tier. He has the most goals and caps of the current team. Skilled on the ball, he is one of the most talented players in this round of competition. Laos prepared for these ties with two friendlies against Sri Lanka, winning one 2-1 and drawing the other 2-2. They are managed by Singaporean Varadaraju Sundramoorthy, who was previously managing the Singapore national team and has also managed in Malaysia.

For Russia 2018 qualifiers, they didn’t have to enter this round as they had a higher ranking that has since slipped. They went straight to a group containing South Korea, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Myanmar, finishing bottom with four points (although three of these came from a 3-0 forfeit victory against the suspended Kuwait). 8-0 and 7-0 defeats in Hwaseong and Sidon showed the gulf with Asia’s elite, but it was a campaign they could still be proud of. To reach the second round and set up a date with Asia’s top teams again they will have to get past Bangladesh first.

During the second leg of the match in Dhaka, it might not be the first event on most Bangladeshis minds – after all, their cricket team are playing Sri Lanka in the World Cup on the same day. But for this young Bangladeshi team, with only four players above the age of 30 (two of them goalkeepers), playing in a World Cup qualifier is a major event that does not come around often. Manager Jamie Day has selected 23 players all from the Bangladesh Premier League for these two games. Like Michael Weiß of Mongolia, Day also manages the U23 team, who played in Asian Championship qualifiers in March, losing to Palestine and Bahrain but beating Sri Lanka. A lot of the players from that side who went to travelled to Isa Town have been moved to the senior team, and fourteen of the 23 players are under 23 years old. The inexperience in senior football shows: the whole squad has a combined total of eleven goals, and no player has more than three. They have not had a warm-up friendly for this game like their opponents Laos, their last game coming in March, a 1-0 victory over Cambodia. Before that, they hosted a friendly tournament, the Bangabandhu Cup, coming in fourth after beating the Laotians 1-0 in the group stage. They also played in the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Championship, but got knocked out in the group stage despite winning two and only losing one game.

Moving to Bangladesh was Day’s first job outside his native England, and he has had a career throughout the lower leagues: his last job was with fifth-tier side Barrow as assistant manager. Like Laos, Bangladesh entered in the second round last time, where they came last in a group containing Australia (then reigning champions of Asia), Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, finishing last with their sole point at home to the Tajiks. Overall, an 8-0 loss in Amman was the worst result, but they were hardly expected to compete in a strong group. If they want to test themself against such strong teams again, they’ll have to get past Laos first.

Macau vs Sri Lanka

First leg: 6 June 2019, 12:30 UK, 19:30 local, Zhuhai Sports Center, Zhuhai

Second leg: 11 June 2019, 11:00 UK, 15:30 local, Sugathadasa, Colombo

As Macau’s stadium, the Estádio Campo Desportivo, is under maintenance, Macau (which is a part of China) will have to play in nearby Zhuhai on the mainland. The majority of their team plays in the Liga da Elite, the local division, with two playing for Lai Chi in the second-tier 2ª Divisão. There are also two players that play in nearby Hong Kong. Out of all the teams, it is the one where there is perhaps the least information out of any of them. Teams who lost in this stage in 2018 qualifiers had the right to enter the AFC Solidarity Cup, a tournament made as an opportunity for these small teams to play more international football, and Macau came second, just missing out on their first honour with a 1-0 loss to Nepal. They have never qualified for either the World Cup or Asian Cup, so they play rarely. They are coached by Yung Cho Ying, who took over in 2018, and is also rather obscure. For Russia 2018 qualifiers, they lost 4-1 on aggregate to Cambodia. These matches are a chance for an unknown team to make their name.



And they have the best possible opportunity with the lowest ranked AFC team at the time of the draw, Sri Lanka (ranked 202 – there are 211 FIFA members). Just like Bangladesh, more Sri Lankans will have their eyes on Bristol for the cricket than the nation’s capital for football. Their team is made up mostly of players who play in the local Dialog Champions League, with one foreign-based player, goalkeeper Weerasinghe Sujan, who plays for Club Eagles in the Maldivian top tier. Their preparations showed their weaknesses but left some room for hope, with two friendlies away to Laos: a 2-1 defeat and a 2-2 draw. In the first game they led for the majority of the game before conceding two goals in the last five minutes. Their last competitive experience came in 2018, when they entered the SAFF Championship. They came bottom of their group containing India and Maldives with one point. They are managed by Pakir Ali, who has also coached in Bangladesh and India. These will be his first competitive games in charge of the Simha Lions. In the last competition, Sri Lanka were famously shocked by Bhutan, then the bottom-ranked side in the world. They will hope to cause their own upset against the Macanese this time.

Cambodia vs Pakistan

First leg – 6 June 2019, 12:30 UK, 18:30 local, National Sports Complex (Olympic Stadium), Phnom Penh

Second leg – 11 June 2019, 17:00 UK, 19:00 local, Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Cambodia’s last competitive experience came in the AFF Championship in 2018, when their squad contained players mostly from the top-tier Metfone C-League. However, two of their players, midfielder Thierry Chanta Bin and forward Chan Vathanaka, play in the Malaysian top tier, for Terengganu FC and PKNS FC respectively. In that competition, they came fourth in their group, beating Laos but losing to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Myanmar. Vathanaka is considered the great hope for Cambodian football, having 45 senior caps and 16 international goals despite being only 25. He scored twice in that tournament, making him Cambodia’s top scorer there. Amazingly, he wasn’t picked in the Cambodian squad, a surprising decision by the new management. Japanese player Keisuke Honda was made manager in 2018 (whilst still playing in Australia) as his first coaching job, although head coach Félix Dalmás, an Argentine who also has a blank CV, often stepped in when Honda couldn’t. Now he has left his club, Honda can take charge full time with Dalmás. The first match with the duo in charge was a surprising 1-0 friendly defeat to Bangladesh in Phnom Penh, which would have concerned those in charge, and that game which took place in March has been their only one before taking on Pakistan.

Last time around they got past this stage after beating Macau 4-1 on aggregate, but lost all eight games in a second-round group containing Japan, Syria, Singapore, and Afghanistan. Honda scored a goal against Cambodia in both games that time, now he will try to help guide them to that stage.

To do so, his side will have to get past Pakistan. The PFF (Pakistan Football Federation) have made the confusing decision to host their home leg in Doha, which is due to a dispute in the federation where FIFA and the Pakistani government recognise different people to be in charge. It would be optimistic to think they would return to Qatar in three years’ time, but if they want to keep the dream alive this dispersed team will have to get past Cambodia. Only eight of the nineteen players in the squad actually play in Pakistan. However, this is perhaps unsurprising given the turbulent nature of Pakistani football. Pakistani domestic football did not take place from 2015-18, and between 2017 and 2018, the PFF were suspended by FIFA. Now, things seem to have been restored to normal. Five players play in the Danish lower leagues, and there are also three players based in England, with one from the USA, Canada, and Hong Kong each. One of these, Rahis Nabi, played in the academy of Premier League side Burnley. It will be up to Brazilian coach José Antonio Nogueira to bring the side together in his fourth spell in charge of an international team, having managed Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and Saint Kitts and Nevis in the past. Nogueira has also managed in Brazil, Ecuador, and Saudi Arabia. They will be playing their first game since December when they lost to Palestine in a friendly 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Afghanistan’s U23s. Their last competitive action came in the 2018 SAFF Championship, where they got knocked out in the semi-finals by India, losing 3-1. Nogueira will hope to take this team one stage further than last time, when they got knocked out by Yemen, but Cambodia will be a tough opponent.

Bhutan vs Guam

First leg – 6 June 2019, 13:00 UK, 18:00 local, Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu

Second leg – 11 June 2019, 06:15 UK, 15:15 local, Guam FA Field, Dededo

Bhutan have had a recent rise, going from the worst-ranked team in the world to being seeded in the draw for this game after their famous reverse of Sri Lanka last time around. Their most recent competitive experience came in the SAFF Championship, in 2018. Most of the squad plays in the top-tier Bhutan Premier League, although one player, Phurba Wangchuk, plays for third-tier Tensung FC. Three of the squad plays abroad in India, with all three playing in the second-tier Hero 2nd Division League. This is a young squad, with the oldest player aged 28. The best player in the team is 22-year-old Chencho Gyeltshen, who plays for NEROCA FC in the Indian second-tier on loan from Bengaluru who play in the top division. Nicknamed the “Ronaldo of Bhutan”, he is already the top goalscorer and most-capped player for the team. He had a key part to play in those famous wins against Sri Lanka.

In 2018, Bhutan won shockingly in the first round, beating Sri Lanka 1-0 in Colombo. 15,000 turned out to see them win 2-1 in Thimphu, Gyeltshen scoring both goals. This earned them tests against Qatar, China PR, Hong Kong, and Maldives in the next round, but they lost all eight games. This included a 15-0 defeat in Doha, a 12-0 loss in Changsha, and a 7-0 defeat in Hong Kong as they shipped 52 goals, an average of 6.5 per game. This would not take away from the extent of the achievement though, and this time they are favourites as they take on Guam.

Guam have however upset South Asian teams before, beating India in 2018 qualifiers. They play in the EAFF region, and their squad for the 2017 qualifiers for the E-1 Championsip included 8 players from the Guam Premier League, 5 based in the mainland USA Guam is an American territory. One, defender Brandon McDonald plays for Vietnamese side Hanoi FC, and a slightly concerning five have no club. More recently, they played in preliminaries for the 2019 event in September, which were their most recent matches. They came third in a group containing hosts Mongolia, Macau, and Northern Mariana Islands (who are affiliated to the EAFF and AFC but not FIFA). They were minutes away from progressing to the next round before Mongolia scored a stoppage time equaliser in the final game to go through instead.

The team is managed by Karl Dodd, an Australian who’s only other senior role was for Australian second-tier side Western Pride. He then moved up a division to become High Performance Manager at Brisbane Roar before taking up the helm at the Matao. In 2018 Guam didn’t have to play at this stage, going straight into a group containing Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan, and India. They came fourth with seven points, all of which came at home, winning their first two games against Turkmenistan and India and also drawing with Oman. Guam will want another strong performance at home in the second leg on their rather isolated island – they have to travel two days in both directions to and from Bhutan.

Malaysia vs Timor-Leste

First leg – 7 June 2019, 13:45 UK, 20:45 local, National Stadium Bukat Jalil, Kuala Lumpur

Second leg – 11 June 2019, 13:45 UK, 20:45 local, National Stadium Bukat Jalil, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia have managed to get the first leg delayed a day as Eid is on Thursday, and will hope to have something else to celebrate the next day in their first qualifier. They are the best-seeded team in this round of competition. Their young squad consists exclusively of Malaysia Super League players, and only two are above the age of 30. Unlike the other teams, they also have a considerable supporters group, Ultras Malaya. Preparation for these games started in March where they hosted a friendly tournament, the AIRMARINE Cup. They came third, losing to Singapore 1-0 in the semi-final before beating Afghanistan in the play-off 2-1. Then, on Sunday, they beat Nepal 2-0 in a friendly. They are managed by Tan Cheng Hoe who managed to guide the Malayan Tigers to the final of the 2018 AFF Championship, knocking out favourites Thailand in the semi-final before losing 3-2 on aggregate to Vietnam in the final.

In Russia 2018 qualifiers, they got a bye to the second round where they were drawn in a group with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine, and Timor-Leste, their opponents in this game. They came fourth, with six points, both 3-0 forfeit wins against the Timorese who had fielded ineligble players. However, their form outside these games was dreadful, so much so they fell into the first round this time. The worst result was a 10-0 loss in Abu Dhabi, and three days later in their next home game against Saudi Arabia protests by Ultras Malaya including throwing objects onto the pitch led to them abandoning and forfieting the game. Since 2015 when these matches took place however, they have improved in time to face Timor-Leste.

Timor-Leste is a tiny country, so much so that their home leg will have to be played in Malaysia as there is no stadium suitable in their own country. They have had to rebuild in the wake of an eligibility scandal, where Brazilians were expressly naturalised with documents falsified by the Timorese FA. FIFA ruled these players to be ineligble. Most recently, they played in the AFF Championship, coming bottom of the group, behind Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia, with losses including a 7-0 defeat to Thailand and 6-1 against Singapore. The squad contained mostly players from the Liga Futbol Amadora (Primera), the top tier, although one player, João Pedro, plays for North Bangkok University in the Thai third tier. They are managed by Carlos Bento.

In Russia 2018 qualifiers, Timor-Leste was at the height of its dubious activities and got past Mongolia in the first round (although it has retrospectively been given as a 6-0 aggregate win for Mongolia, it was too late to reinstate Mongolia as the decision was made in 2017). Three of the four goalscorers in those ties have since ben banned. They came bottom of their second round group – the same one Malaysia were in, although five of their matches ended in forfeits. This included a 7-0 loss in Jeddah, which the result stood as a 7-0 forfeit (the others were made as 3-0 losses). In their last three games with all Timorese players, they lost 8-0 in Abu Dhabi, 10-0 at home to Saudi Arabia, and 7-0 in Hebron. Their rut seems far from over and Malaysia look to give them a pasting.

Predictions:

Mongolia to beat Brunei Darussalam – but Brunei can give them a tough time

Laos should have enough to beat Bangladesh

Macau aren’t great, but Sri Lanka is a favourable draw and they should go through

Cambodia, even with the managerial changes, are better than Pakistan and should go through

Bhutan and Guam is the tightest game of the lot – I will call it in favour of Bhutan

Malaysia should thrash Timor-Leste

Tie of the round: Bhutan vs Guam

One to watch: Soukaphone Vongchiengkham (Laos)

By Patrick Green