Bresciano of Australia, right, and Marcone Ameral of Qatar during World Cup qualifying match between Qatar and Australia in June

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 placed teams in each pool getting an automatic berth for South Africa 2010.

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.

Groups drawn

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. South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea and the United Arab Emirates boast a combined total of 16 World Cup appearances between them compared with Group A's five.

Australia and South Korea are the top seeds of their respective groups and will not take the field until match day two on September 10.

Most focus is on Saturday in Riyadh, where Saudi Arabia hosts Iran in a match between two of the strongest teams in the region.

Mehdi Mahdavikia who also plays for Frankfurt has been overlooked by Daei

Off-field distractions

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.

"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.

Heat is on

Saudi Arabian representatives generally prefer to play in local leagues, but traveled for a training camp in Switzerland last month where they 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 97F, 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.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada faces losing his job if Japan fail to qualify

Poor performance

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 has Uzbekistan traveling to Qatar, a team missing four players through injury or suspension.

Uzbekistan firepower

With a whopping 26 goals in their first seven qualifiers, Uzbekistan are Asia's form team, making amends for their acrimonious exit from qualifying for the 2006 finals in Germany.

The Uzbeks were just a game away from their first World Cup when they were made to replay a match they had won, which FIFA said was fraught with refereeing errors.

They could have another replay on their hands if the Court of Arbitration for Sport rule that Qatar's fielding of naturalised Brazilian Emerson breached competition rules.

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.

Domestic development

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 September 10 against North Korea.

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