SEOUL, Following a campaign that started last October and has spanned two continents, the last 10 Asian hopefuls will this weekend enter the last qualifying stage for automatic places at the 2010 World Cup.
Japan, the Koreas, Australia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the surviving teams that have been split into two groups of five—with the first- and second-place teams in each pool getting an automatic berth for South Africa.
The two third-placed teams will face each other for the right to take on Oceania’s representative—likely to be New Zealand—for a final shot at the World Cup.
In Group A, east Asian power Japan has been drawn with Australia—which joined the Asian confederation after the 2006 World Cup—Uzbekistan, Qatar and Bahrain.
Group B looks tougher, with South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea and the United Arab Emirates having 16 World Cup appearances between them compared with Group A’s five.
Australia and South Korea are the top seeds and will not take the field until Sept. 10.
Most focus on the first day of matches this Saturday is on Riyadh, where Saudi Arabia hosts Iran in a match between two of the strongest teams in the region. Group B’s two weakest teams, the UAE and North Korea, meet at Abu Dhabi.
Iran enters this crucial period distracted by off-field issues after coach Ali Daei omitted former captain and 2006 teammate Mehdi Mahdavikia from his lineup.
"Although there has been a lot of side issues and controversy around the national team recently, I don't pay any attention to these issues," Daei said this week. "Undoubtedly, the fittest players will play against Saudi Arabia and no player will be guaranteed to start."
Better news came from the Spanish league last weekend when Iranian midfielders Javad Nekounam and Masoud Shojaei combined to give Osasuna a 1-1 draw with a formidable Villarreal team. The two have been summoned for national duties along with other European-based stars such as Andranik Teymourian of London club Fulham and Bochum's Vahid Hashemian.
Saudi Arabian representatives generally prefer to play in local leagues, but traveled for a training camp in Switzerland where they last month drew with Paraguay, lost to Italian club Sampdoria and defeated neighbor Qatar.
Group B's two weakest teams, the UAE and North Korea, meet at Abu Dhabi, with both needing to get some early points on the standings.
With temperatures expected to be around 36 C (97 F), UAE will be hoping the heat can help break down a formidable North Korean defense that wasn't breached once in the six games of the previous round of Asian qualifying.
Japan's quest for revenge over Bahrain is the headline match in Group A. The two met in the previous round of qualification and a 1-0 defeat in Manama threatened to scupper Japan's World Cup chances and the job of coach Takeshi Okada.
Okada, who bemoaned his team's lack of firepower recently, let star player Shunsuke Nakamura stay in Europe for that match, but has called him in this time.
"This match is the most important for us," he said. "I think it will be a tough match. But if we overcome this, our team can step up further."
The other Group A match Saturday has Uzbekistan traveling to Qatar, a team missing four players through injury or suspension.
Uzbekistan was the most impressive team of the third round of qualification, winning 7-3 in Singapore and 3-0 at home to Saudi Arabia.
Soccer in the Central Asian country is going through a renaissance of sorts with club teams becoming richer - one signed Brazilian veteran Rivaldo last week - and more competitive.
The former Soviet Republic has never qualified for a World Cup and a win in Doha would be a great start on the road to South Africa 2010.
Uzbekistan is at home four days later against Australia, which exited the last World Cup in the second round on a contentious last-minute penalty to eventual champion Italy.
South Korea, the 2002 World Cup semifinalist, starts the fourth round on neutral territory at Shanghai, China on Sept. 10 against North Korea.
By: JOHN DUERDEN - AP
