KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 ― Asian champions Australia landed in the same group as heavyweights Japan today as teams were drawn for the final stage of regional qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos will also face Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and minnows Thailand in Group B when games start in September.
Sleeping giants China, who scraped into the third round after a stop-start qualifying campaign so far, have a tough assignment against Iran and South Korea in Group A.
War-torn Syria, Uzbekistan and Qatar, the 2022 World Cup hosts, are the other teams in Group A.
The top two in each group will qualify for the World Cup in Russia, while two third-placed sides will face each other for the right to contest an intercontinental play-off.
Group A: Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, China, Qatar, Syria
Group B: Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Thailand. — AFP
