{"id":29904,"date":"2017-11-30T12:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T20:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/?p=29904"},"modified":"2017-11-30T20:15:07","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T04:15:07","slug":"asian-hopefuls-set-to-learn-world-cup-opponents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2017\/11\/30\/asian-hopefuls-set-to-learn-world-cup-opponents\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian hopefuls set to learn World Cup opponents [VIDEO]"},"content":{"rendered":"

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR, Asia\u2019s five FIFA World Cup 2018 hopefuls will discover their group stage opponents on Friday when the competition\u2019s official draw is held in Russia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Join the-AFC.com as we bring you all you need to know ahead of the event at Moscow\u2019s State Kremlin Palace.<\/p>\n

WHAT:<\/strong> FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Final Draw
\nWHERE:<\/strong> Moscow, Russia
\nWHEN:<\/strong> 18:00 local time (Russia is 5 hours behind Hong Kong)
\nWHO FROM ASIA:<\/strong> Islamic Republic of Iran, Australia, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n

About the Draw<\/strong>
\nThe 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.<\/p>\n

*In Pot 1, Russia will have a red ball and will be pre-assigned the position of A1 as host.<\/p>\n

*The remaining seven teams in Pot 1 will automatically be drawn into position 1 of each group (B to H), whereas teams in Pots 2, 3 and 4 will be drawn into positions randomly in their groups.<\/p>\n

*FIFA\u2019s general principle is to ensure that no group has more than one team from the same qualification zone drawn into it. <\/p>\n

*This is applicable to all zones except Europe, which is represented by 14 teams. Each group must have at least one but no more than two.<\/p>\n

*European teams drawn into it. As such, six out of the eight groups will feature two European teams.<\/p>\n

Asia\u2019s World Cup Hopefuls:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Islamic Republic of Iran<\/strong>
\nFIFA Ranking: 34
\nPrevious finals – 4: 1978, 1998, 2006, 2014
\nBest performance: Round 1 (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014)<\/p>\n

Australia<\/strong>
\nFIFA Ranking: 43
\nPrevious finals – 4: 1974, 2006, 2010, 2014
\nBest performance: Round of 16 (2006)<\/p>\n

Japan<\/strong>
\nFIFA Ranking: 44
\nPrevious finals – 5: 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
\nBest performance: Round of 16 (2002, 2010)<\/p>\n

Korea Republic<\/strong>
\nFIFA Ranking: 62
\nPrevious finals – 9: 1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
\nBest performance: Semi-finals (2002)<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia<\/strong>
\nFIFA Ranking: 63
\nPrevious finals – 4: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
\nBest performance: Round of 16 (1994)<\/p>\n

Follow the draw live here:<\/strong>
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