While the final round of the Asian qualifiers of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil was drawing attention in March, some member countries and regions of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) were involved in a fierce battle. They played in the qualifying round of the AFC Challenge Cup 2014 ? An international tournament by low-FIFA ranking members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Five countries/regions attended the qualifiers from the EAFF: Guam, Chinese Taipei, Macau-China, Mongolia, and Northern Mariana Islands. The 20 participants were split into five groups. In each group, four teams competed in a round robin league and the top two teams would qualify for the finals to be held in April 2014. The winner of the final tournament will be given a berth in the AFC Asia Cup 2015.

In group A, which contained Guam and Chinese Taipei, the matches were played in Myanmar from the 2nd to 6th of March.
Led by British coach Gary White, Guam lost the games against Myanmar and India. However, they won the all-EAFF member match by beating Chinese Taipei 3-0 and finished the group in third place with one win and two losses.



Chinese Taipei finished last, but recorded a remarkable result; They claimed a 1-1 draw against group winners Myanmar.
In Group B, Macau-China showed their resilience. They made group winners Kyrgyzstan struggle before losing 0-1 and did not allow Tajikistan, who finished second, to add to their one-goal lead up until late (the final score was 3-0). Also losing a game against Pakistan, Macau-China finished the group with three straight losses, but they made a good impression.

Group C involved Mongolia.

The host nation Laos are led by Kokichi Kimura, former coach of J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos. Asked about his impression of the Mongolian international team, the Japanese trainer fighting in a foreign country said; “Considering the significant temperature difference, they came to Laos a week before the match to deal with heat acclimation and get ready. As many Japanese associate Sumo wrestlers with Mongolia, they are physically very strong and do well in man-to-man battles. They basically defended deep with all players in their own half and resorted to counter-attacking.”

The game between Laos and Mongolia, which was played on the first day of the qualifier, resulted in a 1-1 draw. After earning a precious point, Mongolia forced group winners Afghanistan into a tense battle, only to lose 0-1. Although the final match against Sri Lanka was played by two teams without hope of qualifying, Mongolia kept their fighting spirit right up to the final minute. “Both teams played to win throughout the game” applauded Laos coach Kimura after watching the match.

Northern Mariana Islands finished Group D with three straight losses. The stats ? no goals for and 19 goals against ? must have shown them a harsh reality, but they were AFC Challenge Cup debutants and the three games against Palestine, Bangladesh, and Nepal will be a big step forward for them.

Unfortunately, the five EAFF member teams who participated in the qualifiers were not able to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup 2014. However, after going through a hard schedule where they had to play three games with only one day intervals, they must have gained valuable experience. Someday, an EAFF member team might win the AFC Challenge Cup and then play in the AFC Asia Cup with regular participants such as Japan, Korea, and China.