A key reason is that many of the so-called stronger sides are unable to call upon their Europe-based players. Other factors, such as the qualifying format, are also contributing to an open tournament that offers lower-ranked teams a great opportunity to rattle the big guns.

Thailand are among the so-called lesser teams to have unnerved the big guns when they held mighty Iran to a stalemate in Bangkok. After the match, Iran coach Ali Daei acknowledged the fact that the favoured teams cannot expect an easy time in this competition.

“We didn’t come here for one point, we came here for all three, but we have to be satisfied with this result. I said before the game this would be a difficult match,” Daei said.

Indonesia, Singapore and Syria have also earned good results against perceived stronger opposition while Japan, Australia and China have struggled at times.

FIFA match days

Unlike the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Asian Cup games are not played on designated FIFA match days and clubs are therefore not duty-bound to release players.

Stronger countries such as Australia, Japan and Iran, who are more likely to have players in the major European leagues, have been forced to field second-string sides while most of their rivals are unaffected.

At the same time, it has given top-tier countries the chance to assess the strength of their fringe players, with Australian coach Pim Verbeek happy with his all A-League side’s 0-0 draw away to Indonesia in Group B.

“Some of our players did very well. They were all under pressure. This was a different game, a different stage. I’m glad they had the opportunity to get their first taste in international football,” said Verbeek.

“Indonesia are tough opposition and we have known this since 2007 when they hosted the Asian Cup. Their performances have dropped recently but we always believe that they are a threat in Asia - especially when they play in front of their home crowd. This was not an easy away match for us.”

Qualifying system

The new qualifying system for the 2011 tournament, in which the top three teams from the previous AFC Asian Cup earn direct entry into the next finals, also has a big influence on the teams trying to qualify.

Asian champions Iraq, runners-up Saudi Arabia and third-placed Korea Republic, as well as hosts Qatar, are absent from the qualifiers.

As a result, four strong teams are removed from the qualifying equation, offering hope to the lesser sides who now play more matches against opponents of similar strength.

The intense competition has also placed a heavy burden on the coaches. Three are already out of a job, with Jordan’s Nelo Vingada and Malaysian B. Sathianathan being sacked while Kuwaiti Mohammad Ibrahim fell on his own sword.

Japanese coach Takeshi Okada has come under pressure while his Chinese counterpart Tin Tiesheng faced a huge backlash after his team’s 3-2 defeat to Syria.

From the five qualifying groups, 10 will advance to the Qatar finals. India have booked their place after winning last year’s AFC Challenge Cup. AFC is also keeping a place open for the winners of next year’s AFC Challenge Cup.

After last week’s matches, the Asian qualifying competition takes a break until November.

With two rounds gone, there is still plenty to play for as a host of rising nations trying to re-shape the face of Asian football.