The battle lines have been drawn for the third and final round of Asia's 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
The draw for the qualifiers was conducted at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
The 12 teams were drawn into two groups with Japan, the continent's top team in the Fifa world rankings, drawn in Group B while second-ranked Iran were drawn in Group A.
Iran, with five previous appearances at the global showpiece, will have South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon for company in Group A.
Japan, seeking a seventh consecutive appearance at the World Cup Finals, were joined in Group B by Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Oman and Vietnam.
Both groups promise to be sizzling affairs, with Iran having to contend with a Korean side seeking an 11th appearance at the World Cup Finals.
The UAE and Iraq have made the Finals once each while Syria and Lebanon will be seeking maiden appearances.
Group B promises to be equally thrilling, with Australia and Saudi Arabia both having made the Finals five times previously and China once.
Oman and Vietnam have never qualified for the global showpiece.
The respective group winners and runners-up will seal their Qatar World Cup spots, while the third-placed teams will qualify for the Asian playoff to determine the side that will advance to the intercontinental playoff.
Based on the Fifa rankings released for Asian teams on June 18, top seeds Japan and Iran were placed in Pot One of the draw, with Pot Two comprising Australia and Korea.
Pot Three had Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while Pot Four comprised Iraq and China, followed by Oman and Syria in Pot Five and debutants Vietnam and Lebanon in Pot Six.
The qualifiers start on Sept 2 and end on March 29 next year.