A combination lottery for the final Asian qualifiers was held for the right to participate in the soccer World Cup Qatar tournament to be held next year, and Japan, which aims to participate in the seventh consecutive tournament, has joined the same group as Australia and Saudi Arabia.
The combination lottery for the World Cup Asian Final Qualifiers was held in Malaysia on the 1st, and 12 teams including Japan, which passed the Asian 2nd Qualifiers, were divided into 2 groups of 6 teams each.
Based on the ranking in Asia updated by FIFA = International Football Federation on the 18th of last month, the top two teams are pre-sorted into separate groups, and Japan, which is the top in Asia, is different from Iran, which is the second. The lottery was held in the form of joining the group.
As a result, Japan ranked 28th in the world ranking
, in addition to Australia aiming to participate in the 6th World Cup at 41st
, Saudi Arabia at 65th
, China at 77th
, Oman at 80th
, and Vietnam at 92nd. I entered Group B, the same as.
The final qualifying round in Asia will be held for more than 6 months from the beginning of September to the end of March next year, and each team will play 10 games in a home-and-away manner.
The other Group A includes
▼ Iran,
▼ South Korea,
▼ UAE = United Arab Emirates,
▼ Iraq,
▼ Syria,
▼ Lebanon.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the World Cup, and the teams in third place will compete against each other to advance to the intercontinental playoffs.
Japan's first Asian final qualifying match will take place on September 2nd and will face Oman at home.
Is Australia your biggest rival?
Australia is considered to be the biggest rival in Group B, the same as Japan.
The latest world ranking is 41st, and we aim to participate in the 6th World Cup in 5 consecutive tournaments.
The second Asian qualifying round passed in 1st place with all 8 wins.
Japan will be in the same group as Australia in the final qualifying round in Asia for the fourth consecutive time since the final qualifying round in South Africa.
The team is characterized by playing with physical strength in both offense and defense, and is led by Graham Arnold, who has also commanded Vegalta Sendai in J1.
Saudi Arabia, ranked 65th in the world, aims to participate in the World Cup for the sixth time in two consecutive tournaments.
The second Asian qualifying round passed in 1st place with 6 wins and 2 draws.
Last time, I was in the same group as Japan in the final Asian qualifying round of the Russian tournament.
The result of the direct confrontation was 1 win and 1 loss, and he was second only to Japan in the right to participate in the Russian tournament.
China, which is 77th in the world, aims to participate for the second time since the 2002 Japan-Korea tournament.
In the second qualifying round in Asia, he was second with 6 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, but he entered the top 4 teams in the 2nd place in the group and decided to advance to the final qualifying round.
Oman, the 80th place in the world, and Vietnam, the 92nd place in the world, are both aiming for their first appearance in the World Cup.
The match schedule in Japan
In the final Asian qualifiers for the World Cup Qatar tournament, which will take about six months, Japan will play six games during this year and four games next year in a home-and-away manner.
First of all, we will play Oman at home on September 2nd as the first match, and then we will play away against China on September 7th.
Then, after playing away against Saudi Arabia on October 7, we will play against Australia at home on October 12.
Both of the two games in November will be played away, with Vietnam on the 11th and Oman on the 16th, ending the final qualifying match of the year.
Then, next year, two games will be played at home in a row, against China on January 27th and Saudi Arabia on February 1st.
Then, after playing away against Australia on March 24th, they will play against Vietnam at home on March 29th to finish the final qualifying.
Director Moriyasu "For a tough battle that is different from the second qualifying"
Japan national team coach Hajime Moriyasu said, "We have to be prepared for the final qualifying to be a tough battle that is different from the second qualifying. There is no guarantee that we will definitely win in Asia. We will do our best to prepare for the World Cup with the feeling that we will definitely participate in the World Cup, and we will do our best for each match and the match in front of us. " I was talking.