Kuala Lumpur: Asia’s five FIFA World Cup 2018 hopefuls will discover their group stage opponents on Friday when the competition’s official draw is held in Russia.
Join the-AFC.com as we bring you all you need to know ahead of the event at Moscow’s State Kremlin Palace.
WHAT: FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Final Draw
WHERE: Moscow, Russia
WHEN: 18:00 local time (Russia is 5 hours behind Hong Kong)
WHO FROM ASIA: Islamic Republic of Iran, Australia, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia
The Pots
About the Draw
The draw sequence will start with Pot 1 and end with Pot 4. Each pot will be completely emptied before moving on to the next. As per standard FIFA procedure, a ball from a team pot will be drawn, followed by a ball from one of the group pots, thus determining the position in which the respective team will play.
Asia’s World Cup Hopefuls
Islamic Republic of Iran
FIFA Ranking: 34
Previous finals - 4: 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014
Best performance: Round 1 (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014)
Australia
FIFA Ranking: 43
Previous finals - 4: 1974, 2006, 2010, 2014
Best performance: Round of 16 (2006)
Japan
FIFA Ranking: 44
Previous finals - 5: 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Best performance: Round of 16 (2002, 2010)
Korea Republic
FIFA Ranking: 62
Previous finals - 9: 1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Best performance: Semi-finals (2002)
Saudi Arabia
FIFA Ranking: 63
Previous finals - 4: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Best performance: Round of 16 (1994)
Photos: FIFA.com
Source: the-afc.com