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Guardian - It's make or break for Iran and Iraq in Asia's World Cup qualifiers, and then there's the small matter of North v South Korea

It may only be March but two of Asia's best teams, perennial rivals Iraq and Iran, could see their bids for World Cup glory go up in flames before spring rears its head.

Tonight is make or break for the Lions of Mesopotamia and Team Melli as the second round of World Cup qualifiers take place. It should be a routine job for both. Iraq take on Qatar - effectively a home fixture for both teams as Baghdad is as likely to stage an international match as it is a 50 Cent concert - while Iran travel to Kuwait City to take on arguably West Asia's worst team.

Yet both are embroiled in off-the-pitch turmoil, having dispensed with the services of supposedly troublesome foreign managers. You have to feel most sorry for Egil Olsen. The Norwegian tactician, ex-Crazy Gang, erm, gang master and card-carrying, welly-wearing communist has, or should I say, had, the hardest job in international football.

The Iraqi national team job is fraught with pitfalls, and Olsen had been wooed for years to take on the challenge of moulding the absurdly talented Iraqis into a world force. Then, almost as soon as they got their man, they sacked him. After one competitive game. Why? The official reason was that he refused to travel to the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil for a training camp on safety grounds. Unofficially, Iraq's tepid performance in the 1-1 draw against China last month burst the team's sense of invincibility garnered from their incredible Asian Cup victory. Olsen was also rumoured to be carrying an injury that rendered him less proactive on the training pitch.

No one should be surprised at the Iraqi FA's behaviour. Despite braving death threats against him and his family, fleeing his home and then bravely coming out of hiding to lead the team once more, former coach Akram Ahmad Salman was sacked a few months later for losing 1-0 to Saudi Arabia in the 2007 Gulf Cup. And to think Premier League managers feel they have it tough.

The match in Doha should be routine but without influential playmaker Nashat Akram, suspended after being stupidly sent off against China, and taking into account a Qatar team full of ringers that's still smarting after being thumped by Australia, it's no foregone conclusion. Draw and they are still in with a chance, but lose and they will miss out on a World Cup appearance that could have had the biggest social and political ramifications of any sporting event since Bobby Fischer brought down communism single handedly in 1972. Possibly. George Bush will no doubt be keeping his fingers crossed for a convincing Iraqi display.

Iran isn't so much in crisis as in torpor. Iranians, brought up on a diet of crisp attacking football, have had to endure five straight games without a goal, including last month's first qualifier against Syria, which ended 0-0. The Iranian FA clearly blamed the insipid displays on the will-he-won't-he tug of love that surrounded the appointment of ex-Spain coach Javier Clemente. It ended acrimoniously with Clemente refusing to be based in Iran. You can hardly blame him: it must have been a hard sell trying to convince his wife of the merits of glamorous Tehran. What was a surprise was the man they turned to - a young ex-player with just one season of coaching under his belt.

But Ali Daei is no ordinary ex-player. Since bursting on to the scene in the late 80s, he went on to break the world record for the most international goals scored whilst plying his trade in the Bundesliga. As he banged them in for Armenia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin (Chelsea fans will remember him well after he scored twice against them in the Champions League) he became an embodiment of the Iranian zeitgeist among a public still isolated from the aftermath of the 1979 revolution.

As captain, Daei lead the team to their greatest triumph, victory over the US at France 98, before returning to Tehran as the country's most popular man, conqueror of fields in European lands and vanquisher of the Great Satan. His wedding was even broadcast live on state TV. Think Diana meets David Beckham. Like Beckham, he is considered a heart-throb, has a huge sports clothing empire and even has a slight speech impediment and high-pitched voice, which he is lightly chided for.

Daei finally hung up his boots after the 2006 World Cup in which a crop of outstanding players failed to live up to their dark horse billing. Daei was off the pace and offered little in his first game against Mexico. The fans pinpointed him as the weakest link, he was dropped and, some fans claimed, booed - unthinkable a few years previously. Call it his 'Argentina moment' if you will. But just as Beckham played like a man possessed in the aftermath of his sending off at France 98, Daei braved the ridicule and took his first coaching job with Saipa FC. Twelve months later he won his first title, in his first season.

The decision by the Iranian FA to make him manager was a clever one. Most fans were expecting a big name foreign signing, or the popular Iranian American coach of Persepolis, Afshin Ghotbi. But in Iran no one commands respect like Daei (OK, maybe Ayatollah Khamenei) and his ability to bring unity to the national team shouldn't be underestimated. For anyone questioning his experience, Slaven Bilic was hardly dripping in European silverware before he masterminded England's Euro 2008 downfall. But if Kuwait spring one of the great surprises of Middle Eastern football, Daei and his squad are likely to be lynched on arrival at Imam Khomeini Airport. Which, in a way, is pretty strong motivation.

Elsewhere, the Socceroos are continuing on their mission to prove that switching to the Asian confederation wasn't a huge mistake, although for Australian fans attending today's game against China, it might have looked like a dodgy decision with Australia reliant on an 89th-minute penalty save by Mark Schwarzer to hold on for a point. The location proved a leveller, with the game played in Kunming, 2,000 metres above sea level. The thin air, coupled with China's newly acquired reputation for being the hard men of international football - they kicked Japan and South Korea off the park in the recent East Asian Championships - helped to level the gulf in class.

One of either Singapore or Lebanon will also see their World Cup dreams effectively end today. Both lost their opening group game but Singapore has the advantage, following the fine result against Australia. And it always helps when the opposition's best players are denied visas. According to Emile Rustom, the team's head coach, four Germany-based players - Lebanon's only professional players - have all been denied travel visas.

Japan, meanwhile, may find things a little trickier in Manama when they take on Bahrain. The Reds brushed aside Oman in their first game before securing a 1-0 friendly victory over Iran last weekend. But the tie of the round, in terms of political intrigue, takes place in Shanghai between North and South Korea. The match was due to be played in Pyongyang but a row erupted after the North Koreans refused to allow their southern brothers to hoist their flag or sing their national anthem. For the players, the match is a chance to indulge in some Korean fraternity. But for the authorities, especially in the North, the match is a publicity coup waiting to happen. A South Korean win might not be enough to have the North Korean coach sent for 're-education' somewhere in the northern mountains, but by Thursday morning there should be a few more names to join Clemente and Olsen on the Asian managerial scrap-heap.

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