KUALA LUMPUR: Japan will face familiar foes in the third round of Asia’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers after Hajime Moriyasu’s side were drawn to take on Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
South Korea will meet Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait in Group B while Iran take on Qatar, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea in Group A.
The winners and runners-up in each group qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The third and fourth place finishers in each group will advance to a fourth round which will determine the continent’s two remaining guaranteed qualifiers.
Four-time Asian champions Japan, who have qualified for the last seven World Cups, played both Saudi Arabia and Australia in the final phase of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
Moriyasu’s team qualified automatically for the most recent tournament from the group alongside Saudi Arabia while Australia eventually qualified via an intercontinental playoff.
“We have been drawn into a very difficult and challenging group,” said Japan’s technical director Masakuni Yamamoto.
“We have matches against those who have experienced the World Cup in the past, but also in places with a climate difference and transportation challenges.
“We have to ensure the best preparations for our players. There are many challenges.”
The draw has left China facing a daunting challenge to secure a place at their first World Cup since making their only appearance in 2002.
“It’s a tough draw for us,” said China coach Branko Ivankovic.
“It’s the toughest group compared to the A and B groups but this is something we expected because we were in the fifth pot and we know that we cannot find a weak team.”
Iran will be aiming to progress to a fourth World Cup in a row – and seventh in total – and take on a Qatar side attempting to qualify for the tournament for the first time.
The Qataris, who won a second consecutive Asian Cup title in February, played at the 2022 edition as hosts but have never progressed to the finals through the preliminaries.
South Korea will be favourites to advance from Group B but take on a Jordan side who defeated them in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup earlier this year.
The preliminaries begin on Sept 5 and run until June 10. — Reuters
