World Cup
2007-10-21 - Sri Lanka vs Qatar
A Sports Betting Pick by Romerz
21 October 2007 – 4.00pm (local time)
Sugathadasa Stadium., Colombo
Sri Lanka v Qatar
World ranking 166 Sri Lanka hosts 91 ranking Qatar for the 1st leg of the 2 legged qualifier in what should be another mismatch typical of the Asian football scene.
Simply put a football wannabe nation against one that is already established in the region.
Sri Lanka
One of the many Asian countries that did not make it to the Asian Cup 2007 finals in July this year.
The last 2 international matches played by Sri Lanka were friendlies at home to Malaysia in March of this year where they beat Malaysia 2-1 on 26 March and lost to Malaysia 1-4 on 24 March.
The fact that they let in 5 goals in 2 matches against an inept Malaysian team that flopped disastrously in the Asian Cup 2007 says it all.
I do not believe that Sri Lanka has changed much in the 6 months that have passed.
Qatar
Qatar made it to the Asian Cup 2007 on merit. In the Asian Cup, Qatar did not make it out of the group stage but they did hold Japan and then on-fire Vietnam both to a 1-1 draw.
Since the Asian Cup, Qatar played 2 friendlies at home, one against Asian Cup 2007 champion, Iraq, on 16 Oct 07 and beating them 3-2 and the other, drew with Oman 1-1 on 18 Sep 07.
Analysis
It would seem that Qatar is taking this qualifier more seriously than Sri Lanka as can be seen by the number of international matches undertaken prior to this match.
Furthermore Sri Lanka’s last internationals were against an inept Malaysia and whilst they did win 1 of the 2, it is hardly anything of note because they also lost to the same inept side by 1-4.
Qatar on the other hand did have 2 international matches for preparation in the last month and achieved a fantastic result against newly crowned Asian champion Iraq.
Having said that, friendlies are no indication of true strength or weakness, so I’d advise caution but we still can’t ignore the fact that Qatar is still head and shoulders above Sri Lanka.
Verdict
Qatar should win this match but whether it will be a rollover I’m not so sure as Qatar on the road only produces mediocre results of late.
Nonetheless, I’m still convinced it will be Qatar’s victory to take unless Sri Lanka performs over and above itself, which I think is highly unlikely.
Bet :
Good luck. Thumbs Up
