Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2015 i World Soccer

“It’s like choosing between white truffles and caviar” Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho has left Fluminense after just nine appearances in three months for the Rio de Janeiro club. The 35-year-old former Barcelona star signed a one-and-a-half year deal with the club in July, but during his short spell back in his homeland he failed to score or provide any assists. He was even booed by his own fans during a defeat to Atletico Mineiro in the Brazilian championship. A statement posted on the club’s website read: “Fluminense hereby announces the end of the contract with Ronaldinho amicably and in mutual agreement between the parties. Fluminense and Ronaldinho retain close ties and plan to work on other projects in the future. “It should be noted that the player’s…

“If you are dating a woman who does not want to respond positively, then you must look for another woman” Weekly notes from Brazil, Spain, Germany and Italy at worldsoccer.com GERMANY After recently accusing striker Bas Dost of brattish behaviour, Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking is now pointing an accusatory finger at Andre Schurrle. Unhappy with the latter’s contribution since arriving from Chelsea in a €33million deal, Hecking announced during a TV talk show that he could no longer protect the German international, and if the striker wanted to remain a first-teamer at the VW club he would have to pull his socks up. “Andre’s been with us for nine months and knows that up to now he has not lived up to expectations. He’s asking himself too many questions. He’s…

Dettmar CRAMER (1925-2015) Coached a Bayern Munich side that included Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller to European Cup success in 1975 and 1976, and was one of Helmut Schon’s assistants during West Germany’s run to the 1966 World Cup Final. Charles GYAMFI (1929-2015) The first African to play in Germany, joining Fortuna Dusseldorf in 1960, he captained Ghana and later went on to coach his national team, winning the African Nations Cup three times, in 1963, 1965 and 1982. Pierre KALALA (1939-2015) Arguably the best player to emerge from Zaire (now DR Congo), winning the African Nations Cup in 1968, and the African Champions Cup in 1967 and 1968 with TP Mazembe Englebert. Ron SPRINGETT (1935-2015) Goalkeeper who won 33 England caps and was a member of the 1966 World…

Filthy FIFA is rotten to the core Don’t say filth, say FIFA. More and more ugly vermin are crawling out from under stones almost every day. Scarcely has Jerome Valcke taken to his heels after being accused of making packets of money out of a ticket scam than Sepp Blatter is in the frame over a sweetheart deal with the ineffable Jack Warner. The ultimate irony is that Warner promised to share any profits made but somehow forgot to do so, meaning FIFA is still owed the money on what was in any case a profoundly dubious deal. And now Michel Platini is under the spotlight for receiving that hefty payment from FIFA for services rendered between 1998 and 2002. All £1.35million of it. “Platini’s attempt to explain the hefty…

There are two stars on the Aberdeen crest, signifying the two European trophies they won in 1983. Yet it is the absence of European football this season that could be the most crucial factor in their bid to return to the summit of Scottish football. For almost three decades, every Aberdeen manager has been weighed down by the past and the legacy left by Alex Ferguson. But not Derek McInnes. His side now have the north-east coastal city dreaming of a first league title in 30 years. Ferguson won three league titles (1980, 1984 and 1985) for the Dons, as well as a European Cup-winners Cup triumph over Real Madrid and the European Super Cup win against Hamburg in 1983, plus four Scottish Cups, before Manchester United lured him away…

“Fantastic,” Louis Van Gaal beamed. “And then you can finish it – unbelievable! With that amount of passes you control the game. I always say to the players that the gaps in the defensive organisation shall exist when you play a kind of positional game. I was very pleased: it is confirmation of our philosophy.” majority of those 44 passes, there had been no obvious threat; only when Schweinsteiger finally played the pass did the vaguest possibility that a goal might lie at the end of the move become apparent. “With that amount of passes you control the game...I was very pleased. It is confirmation of our policy” Louis Van Gaal on the 44-pass goal at Southampton That pass, in fact, was only the second one in the whole move…

OVERVIEW The Czechs made it through to the 2016 finals despite being drawn in a potentially difficult group with Holland, Turkey and Iceland. A team with few well-known stars, coach Pavel Vrba has moulded them into a side that is greater than the sum of its parts. ● Expectations were low at the start of the qualifying campaign but an injury-time winner in their opening game in Prague against Holland galvanised the side and they went on to win their opening four games, while their rivals struggled. ● The Czechs have an impressive record at the European Championship, winning (as Czechoslovakia) in 1976, reaching the Final in 1996, the semi-finals in 2004 and the quarter-finals in 2012. They have qualified for every tournament since 1996. ● With the exception of…

Trevor Francis, the British game’s first £1million footballer, was on the October 1981 cover after his latest shock transfer, for £1.2m from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City. In our editorial leader we advocated that transfers during the English season should be banned. The main news from South America centred around the impact that a certain young Argentinian player by the name of Diego Maradona was having on the championship in his homeland. Eric Weil reported: “Maradona, who led Argentinos Juniors to second place last year, behind ninepoint winners River Plate, might well have taken them to the championship this year, ahead of faltering River Plate, but he moved to Boca Juniors and the title moved with him. “Maradona shone less because he had more to do at Boca Juniors. The…

Jairo RIEDEWALD Defender, 19 (09.09.96) Ajax & Holland In a sentence A full international by the age of 18, the elegant, ball-playing centre-back has been compared to all-time Dutch great Frank Rijkaard and is widely expected to one day captain the “Oranje”. What they say Frank De Boer, Ajax coach: “He has many attributes, both in defence and attack. I’ve told him: ‘If you can wake up the monster in yourself, there’s no stopping you.’ And lately, he’s been doing that. He now has to continue the good work and build up his experience. I’ve known for a long time that he’s very talented.” Marc Overmars, Ajax director of sport: “He’s made important steps up the professional ladder. He’s an extremely strong boy who can play good football as well.…

1 Atletico de Kolkata 2 Chennaiyin (Chennai) 3 Delhi Dynamos 4 Goa 5 Kerala Blasters 6 Mumbai City 7 NorthEast United (Assam) 8 Pune City ATLETICO DE KOLKATA Salt Lake Stadium (68,000) Coach: Antonio Lopez Squad includes: Josemi, Helder Postiga. CHENNAIYIN Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (40,000) Coach: Marco Materazzi Squad includes: Elano, Bernard Mendy. DELHI DYNAMOS Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (60,000) Player-coach: Roberto Carlos, Squad includes: John Arne Riise, Florent Malouda. GOA Fatorda Stadium (19,800) Coach: Zico Squad includes: Lucio, Leo Moura. KERALA BLASTERS Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (60,000) Coach: Peter Taylor Squad includes: Carlos Marchena, Peter Ramage. MUMBAI CITY DY Patil Stadium (55,000) Player-coach: Nicolas Anelka Squad includes: Darren O’Dea. NORTHEAST UNITED Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium (35,000) Coach: Cesar Farias Squad includes: Simao Sabrosa, Boubacar Sanogo. PUNE CITY Balewadi Sports Complex (18,000)…

When Paulo Sousa’s Fiorentina won summer friendlies against Barcelona and Chelsea, most people took those results with the extra-large pinch of salt applicable to pre-season games. While victories such as those might set fans dreaming, it is reasonable to suggest that it will be a different story when the real action begins. However, six games into the Serie A season and Fiorentina fans were in wonderland as a stunning 4-1 destruction job of unbeaten Internazionale at the San Siro put La Viola top of the table for the first time since February 1999. “You can take nothing for granted in our league...anything can happen” Fiorentina’s team director Daniele Prade Back then, the fate of Fiorentina rested on the shoulders of two legends of the post-war Italian game: coach Giovanni Trapattoni…

Michel Platini shambled in for his press conference. He smiled, laughed and joked with his UEFA generalsecretary, Gianni Infantino, and his media minder, former CNN sports reporter Pedro Pinto, and sat down to face a throng of cameras and reporters. All were poised for “the news”. A month earlier, Platini had been first out of the blocks to declare his pursuit of the presidency of FIFA, writing to all the world’s national associations nine days after the executive committee had set the election for February 26. Now, at the Grimaldi Forum conference centre, staring out at the Mediterranean in Monte Carlo, the French president of UEFA had cleared the decks. The previous day the Champions League group draw had been undertaken; this morning it had been the turn of the…

Another month, another meltdown at FIFA. The latest crisis (see page 10) is the most serious yet. The corrupting culture that has enveloped the organisation under Sepp Blatter’s leadership has claimed its biggest scalps in Jerome Valcke’s suspension and the end, it seems, of Michel Platini’s presidential ambitions. And yet, even though Blatter is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Swiss authorities, he could still be the last man standing when FIFA members meet to elect a new president in February. It often feels like “Groundhog Day” in the World Soccer office, such has been the succession of repeat offenders at FIFA. But it bears repeating that true reform will only be achieved when Blatter leaves FIFA for good. It bears repeating that true reform will only be…

MATTEO VITAIOLI Scored San Marino’s first away goal in a competitive game for 14 years when he found the net in a 2-1 defeat to Lithuania in a Euro Championship qualifier. CRISTIANO RONALDO Scored five goals for Real Madrid in a 6-0 win in La Liga against Espanyol to overtake, by two, Raul’s club record of 228 goals. He then followed that up with a hat-trick three days later in the Champions League win at home to Shakhtar Donetsk. FRANCESCO TOTTI The 38-year-old Roma forward became the first player in Italian football history to score 300 goals for one club. SIMON DAWKINS After losing 3-2 in the home leg of their third round knockout game to Nicaragua, Gold Cup finalists Jamaica were heading out of the World Cup. Even after…

“It’s the Dutch disease. We thought qualification for Euro 2016 would be simple. We’ve been arrogant” For all the superlatives rightly being heaped on Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski following his astonishing five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg – the first top-flight quintuple since MSV Duisburg’s Michael Tonnies singlehandedly destroyed Karlsruher back in 1991 – in terms of Bundesliga history, a “fünferpack” is not as uncommon as one might think. No fewer than 11 other players have managed it and between 1972 and 1976, with iconic Bayern centre-forward Gerd Muller doing so on four occasions. Despite Lewandowski’s heroics, the double hat-trick Dieter Muller rattled in for Cologne in a 7-2 thrashing of Werder Bremen in August 1977 remains the ultimate act of German top-flight finishing. Now 61, the once-deadly…

I am not a great fan of academic intrusions into football as they rarely seem to add much insight into the game, usually telling us what we already knew, or don’t need to know, with bewildering prolixity. That intellectual tendency to liken football to chess irritates me from the start. It’s absurd – so who better to debunk that notion than a reputable academic. John Von Neumann, who is a mathematician and founder of the field of “Game Theory”, explains: “Chess is not a game, it is a well-defined form of computation. You may not be able to work out the answer, but in theory there must be a solution, a right procedure for any position.” Having a precise mathematical solution to every problem sounds like academic heaven. But it…

The players were led out hand in hand by the children of refugees as the crowd in all four stands stood to applaud. When the teams from Borussia Dortmund and St Pauli reached the middle of the pitch, the messages were raised too. Homemade signs, some made out of ripped up cardboard boxes, next to flags and more professionally-made posters. Some were in English, some in German and a few in Arabic. Next to them, larger banners were unfurled that sent a message not just to fellow fans, the players and the clubs, but to the outside world. “No Border, No Nation,” read one. “Say It Loud, Say It Clear, Refugees Are Welcome Here!” read the biggest. At present, Europe has been gripped by the worst refugee crisis since the…

Next summer’s European Championship finalists OVERVIEW Les Bleus have plenty of talent at their disposal as they prepare to host next summer’s 24-team tournament. But their lack of competitive action makes it hard to judge their chances. ● France face the perennial problem of tournament hosts – they have played only friendly matches since their World Cup quarter-final defeat by Germany. But coach Didier Deschamps insists it is not a problem as, in the past year, France have played Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Brazil, with England, Germany, Holland and Russia lined up in the coming months. ● This summer, Deschamps saw young French talent fetch big money in the transfer market: Anthony Martial cost Manchester United £36m while Inter paid £26m for Geoffrey Kondogbia. Those moves, and a number of…

OVERVIEW Iceland became the smallest nation to qualify for a European Championship finals when they drew with Kazakhstan in September. It followed home-and-away wins over Holland, as well as victories over Turkey and the Czech Republic. ● Iceland came close to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup but lost to Croatia in a play-off in November 2013. ● Iceland has a population of just 360,000 – the same size as Coventry – and only has 21,508 registered players. But a programme of investment in facilities, including indoor and all-weather pitches, means football can be played all year round. ● Iceland have enjoyed success at under-21 level, with many of the side that reached the 2011 Euro Under-21 finals progressing to the senior side. ● Few of the senior side play…

Over the next few months, no figure in the German game is going to be busier than Marc Kosicke – the agent, PR and business advisor, and confidante of Jurgen Klopp, the most wanted coach on the European circuit today. While his superstar client takes a fully deserved sabbatical after 14 seasons on the technical area treadmill with Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, former Nike executive Kosicke is beavering away in the background on the next phase of Klopp’s stellar career. Since sensationally quitting Dortmund last spring, Klopp’s name has been linked at one time or another with more or less every leading side. And wherever the 48-year-old Stuttgarter ends up, that club will be in for the ride of its life: an adrenaline-fuelled journey of breakneck attacking football, youthful dash…

“ I go home angry if I misplace passes…I’m not interested in winning at all costs” “I would have liked to be faster, to be able to burst away from players with a change of pace, like Andres [Iniesta]. I can’t get away from anyone!” How is life in Qatar? Phenomenal. It’s perfect. I have been pleasantly surprised. The technical and competitive level is remarkably high and the professionalism is good. It lacks a little on the tactical side and the organisational side is more relaxed, but, in general, it is extraordinary. Your new team-mates must treat you with reverence… I’ve felt a lot of respect, including from the coach, who is always looking out for me. But I want to be a regular member of the squad; having privileges…

After losing their opening five games in the Bundesliga, and suffering a 3-0 Champions League reverse at Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach lapsed into further disarray when their long-serving coach, Lucien Favre, surprisingly resigned. Having transformed Gladbach from a relegationthreatened rabble to top-drawer European participants, the former Swiss international had the total backing of the club board to ride out any storm. But with echoes of Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, the 57-year-old ultimately came to the conclusion that he was not part of the solution. “I no longer have the feeling that I’m the perfect coach for Borussia Monchengladbach,” said Favre. “In this situation, the best decision is to vacate my post. I had to take this decision for Borussia’s future. At this time, it’s the best…

If trophies were handed out for footballing comedy, then Marseille would be the unquestionable champions of Europe. When they haven’t been strenuously denying allegations of Mafioso connections at OM, and endless machinations regarding the club’s finances (or lack of them), there’s been a revolving-door policy of departing coaches and top players to contend with. And this latest season began no differently when, out of the blue, Argentinian boss Marcelo Bielsa decided to resign after the opening game of the campaign, an insipid 1-0 home defeat to Caen. He had been in charge for just 15 months. Marseille being Marseille, and Bielsa being “El Loco”, it all had to unravel in the most unseemly manner. Bielsa had his French interpreter read out to a gobsmacked press room the resignation letter he’d…

September’s 8-0 savaging in South Korea, followed by a 2-0 loss at home to Kuwait, may have ended dreams of reaching the 2018 World Cup finals, but Laos coach Steve Darby says October’s game against Myanmar is still “our cup final”. The game will be played in the Thai capital of Bangkok, as Myanmar were sanctioned for crowd violence in the 2014 qualifiers, and Darby says: “If we win this we should get fourth place [in the qualifying group] and climb the FIFA rankings.” Darby took charge after the first round of qualifiers and is under no illusion as to the task he has taken on. “The aim at first is to get respectable scores, which keep players and fans motivated,” he admits. “It’s naive to go out and attack…

AFRICA CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group A Jun 28: Smouha (Egy) 3 Moghreb Tetouan (Mor) 2; TP Mazembe (DRC) 0 Al Hilal (Sud) 0. Jul 12: Al Hilal 2 Smouha 0; Moghreb Tetouan 0 TP Mazembe 0. Jul 24: Smouha 0 TP Mazembe 2. Jul 26: Moghreb Tetouan 1 Al Hilal 1. Aug 7: Al Hilal 0 Moghreb Tetouan 1. Aug 8: TP Mazembe 1 Smouha 0. Aug 23: Al Hilal 1 TP Mazembe 0; Moghreb Tetouan 2 Smouha 1. Sep 12: Smouha 1 Al Hilal 1; TP Mazembe 5 Moghreb Tetouan 0. Group B Jun 26: Al Merreikh (Sud) 2 MC El Eulma (Alg) 0. Jun 27: ES Setif (Alg) 1 USM Alger (Alg) 2. Jul 10: USM Alger 1 Al Merreikh 0. Jul 11: MC El Eulma 0 ES…

SEPTEMBER 1 ZURICH: Thomas Renggli, author of the ‘Platini smear’ article, resigns from FIFA staff. SEPTEMBER 2 BERNE: FIFA’s new reform committee meets for the first time under the chairmanship of Francois Carrard, former director-general of the International Olympic Committee. NIGERIA: EX-Nigeria captain Segun Odegbami (above) announces he will campaign to become FIFA president. SEOUL: Chung Mong-joon accuses the Asian Football Confederation of undermining the presidential election process by suggesting its members’ support Michel Platini. SEPTEMBER 9 JORDAN: Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, former FIFA vice-president, (right) announces his intention to stand for the presidency. SEPTEMBER 12 ZURICH: Swiss television publishes allegations suggested Sepp Blatter sold 2010 and 2014 World Cup TV rights to Jack Warner at a bargain $600,000, from which the latter made a $15m profit. SEPTEMBER 14…

Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has been banned from football for life by FIFA, even though the 72-year-old Trinidadian quit FIFA four years ago, in 2011. Warner, the former head of Caribbean and North and Central American football (CONCACAF), is fighting extradition to the United States on corruption charges and denies accepting millions of dollars in bribes. He committed “many and various acts of misconduct continuously and repeatedly” said a statement from the FIFA ethics committee. FIFA’s ruling follows an investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which began looking at Warner’s activities in January 2015. The statement continued: “In his positions as a football official, he was a key player in schemes involving the offer, acceptance and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments, as…

“I cannot affirm that Platini is corrupt. But the way he’s run UEFA hasn’t been the best. He’s from the same school as Blatter” To see video footage of these goals, and many more that we have selected, scan the QR code using any free QR reader that can be downloaded to your smartphone. You can also see the videos by logging on to http://po.st/ZBkSye 1 SERGIO AGUERO Argentina v Bolivia Exchanges passes twice with Roberto Pereyra before chipping the goalkeeper from the right side of the penalty area. 2 ALDO KALULU Lyon v Bastia Steed Malbranque splits the Bastia defence with a delightful pass that the 19-year-old runs on to and then flicks over the advancing goalkeeper before tapping into the net on the volley for his first goal…

“No man in the world is worth 50million. We have to be careful in football that we don’t lose a grip on reality” The silence in the Camp Nou was deafening. Lionel Messi was down in the penalty area. A long ball from Sergi Roberto had reached him and, with a single superb touch, he had controlled and dashed past a defender to the edge of the six-yard box where he prepared to shoot. As he did so, Pedro Bigas came across to block. The impact twisted Messi’s knee and he went to ground. Up in the stands, they knew it was probably serious, not least because Messi is not in the habit of going to ground for nothing; still less staying there. But there he was. The game against…

“I’ll always want things to go bad for Madrid. I wore a Buffon shirt during [last season’s] Champions League semi-final and always want Madrid to lose. That’s the way the Madrid-Barca rivalry is” IN EUROPE Borussia Monchengladbach under-23s’ coach ANDRE SCHUBERT took interim control of the first team following the resignation of Lucien Favre after they lost their first five Bundesliga games of the season (see page 77). Serie A strugglers Carpi appointed former Watford manager GIUSEPPE SANNINO as a replacement for Fabrizio Castori, who left six games into the season without a win. Former France midfielder YOANN GOURCUFF, who was without a club after leaving Lyon at the end of last season, joined Rennes on a one-year deal. The 29-year-old is not yet fit to play, however, due to…

Rarely in La Liga does the attention fall on a team other than Spain’s big two, but when Barcelona lost in the league for the first time in eight months this September, their opponents were thoroughly deserving of their moment in the spotlight. Celta Vigo had been in superb form this season – and indeed for much of last term – before the arrival of Barca in Galicia, having torn into Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan the week previously. But it was the 4-1 victory at Balaidos against the reigning European champions that made everyone sit up and take note. Victory was achieved with goals from Nolito, Iago Aspas (two) and John Guidetti, but even if the scoreline had been different – both sides had 17 shots on target and…

Makes his first-team debut for Genk, in a 3-0 defeat at Charleroi. MAY 9, 2009 Is an unused sub as Genk beat Mechelen 2-0 to win the Belgian Cup Final in Brussels. MAY 23, 2009 Scores his first goal for Genk, in a 1-0 win against Standard Liege. FEB 7, 2010 Makes his international debut for Belgium, in a 1-0 friendly defeat by Finland in Turku. AUG 11, 2010 A 1-1 home draw with closest rivals Standard Liege secures the Belgian league title for Genk. MAY 17, 2011 Scores his first hat-trick for Genk, in a 5-4 win against Club Brugge. OCT 29, 2011 Signs for Premier League club Chelsea on transfer deadline day but is loaned back to Genk for the rest of the season. JAN 31, 2012 Scores…

OVERVIEW England were the only team with a 100 per cent record in the qualifiers after eight rounds. Drawn in a relatively easy group, they won their opening game, in Switzerland, to take an early lead that was never relinquished. ● Since their best Euro performance, when they reached the semi-finals on home soil in 1996, England have reached the quarter-finals twice, in 2004 and 2012. ● Hodgson survived the disappointment of the last World Cup, when England failed to get out of their group, but the FA will only discuss a new contract after next summer’s tournament. “What we wanted to avoid was the slightly unsavoury position we had with Fabio Capello in 2010,” says chief exec Martin Glenn. ● With Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard retired, Hodgson has…

1 Jurgen KLOPP Age: 47 Nationality: German Current status: Unattached. Past: Guided Mainz into the Bundesliga for the first time before leaving for Borussia Dortmund, who he steered to successive titles in 2011 and 2012, and the 2013 Champions League Final. Style: Charismatic, bespectacled motivator. Future: Could succeed Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich next summer – as long as nobody else signs him up before them. 2 Diego SIMEONE Age: 44 Nationality: Argentinian Current status: Hugely successful with Atletico Madrid, winning La Liga and reaching the 2014 Champions League Final. Past: Won league titles with Estudiantes and River Plate in Argentina, but less successful with San Lorenzo. Style: Brilliant motivator and organiser. Future: Has extended his Atletico contract until 2020 but that may not deter wealthy suitors. 3 Frank DE…

On December 20 last year, almost 37,000 fans turned out in Mumbai – a neutral venue – to watch Atletico de Kolkata beat Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the Final of the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL). In the last minute of stoppage time, Mohammed Rafique headed home a corner past the despairing dive of David James in the most dramatic of endings. With an average attendance of almost 24,000 and an ability to make headlines in the local media that the regular league, the I-League, simply can’t compete with, the first ISL – backed by Indian conglomerate Reliance and the Indian FA’s commercial partners IMG – was generally seen as a success. Even the selling of the eight franchises was big news with famous investors from diverse worlds such as…

When Albert Roca parted company with El Salvador, the national coach delivered a parting shot that seemed a somewhat self-serving critique following a largely indifferent 14-month reign. However, the curious words of his interim replacement, Jorge Rodriguez, uttered in the aftermath of a tricky but successfully negotiated World Cup qualifying tie against Caribbean contender Curacao, lent some weight to the Spaniard’s accusations. In the aftermath of the two-legged qualifier, Rodriguez and at least one player – defender Alexander Larin – referred to a lack of material support for the national team. In echoes of Roca’s gripes, he lamented the players’ poor facilities and inadequate accommodation when they gather for matches. The game in the Central American country is in the doldrums and has been for decades. From the grassroots up,…

2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS ASIA section ● 4.5 finals places available 1st round (for the 12 lowest-ranked countries) 1st legs - Mar 12; 2nd legs - Mar 17/23, 2015 Cambodia v Macau 3-0, 1-1 (agg 4-1) East Timor v Mongolia 4-1, 1-0 (agg 5-1) India v Nepal 2-0, 0-0 (agg 2-0) Sri Lanka v Bhutan 0-1, 1-2 (agg 1-3) Taiwan v Brunei 0-1, 2-0 (agg 2-1) Yemen v Pakistan 3-1, 0-0 (agg 3-1) 2nd round (the remaining 34 countries entered at this stage; ties to be completed by Mar 2016) Group A Sep 3 - Jeddah Saudi Arabia 7 (Al Shehri 2, Al Sahlawi pen 23, 26, 71, Al Faraj 30, Al Jassam 32, Al Muwallad 73) East Timor 0 HT: 5-0. Ref: Faizullin (Kyr) Sep 3 - Abu Dhabi…