HONG KONG: In front of a smattering of fans on a Thursday (June 6) evening heavy with humidity, the amateur footballers of Macau took their first step forward in their unlikely quest for a place at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar. At stake is a place in the qualifying draw proper for the World Cup finals when the minnows of the Asian game face could be pitted against World Cup regulars such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran in the second of four qualifying rounds for one of the continent's four guaranteed spots at the finals. "Today we got our first win ever in qualification, so that was our first goal," said Macau captain Nikki Tarrao. We can't aim to go to the group phase, we have to think step by step. "We're not even semi-professional in Macau.

Source: The Edge Markets June 06, 2019 17:26 UTC