The Philippines finally got a break after getting a relatively easy group in the second round of the Fifa World Cup 2022 qualifiers.
The Philippines is in Group A with China, Syria, Maldives and Guam and needs to finish within the top two to advance to the next round.
China is the highest-ranked team in the group at No. 73 with Syria second at No. 85. The Philippines is third at No. 126, Maldives is next at No. 151 and Guam is last at No. 90.
Meanwhile, North Korea and South Korea have been drawn together. The Korean neighbors will play each other home and away in the five-nation Group H that includes Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka.
Saudi Arabia and Yemen were also paired in Wednesday’s draw that involved 40 national teams and some political sensitivities.
The Saudis, which played at the 2018 World Cup, are top-seeded in Group D that also has Uzbekistan, Palestine and Singapore.
Top-ranked Iran was drawn with neighboring Iraq, plus Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia, in Group C.
United Arab Emirates is top-seeded in a Group G loaded with Southeast Asian derbies, involving Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Australia, which plays in the Asian soccer confederation, will play Jordan, Taiwan, Kuwait and Nepal in Group B.
World Cup host Qatar also plays as this group stage doubles up as qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Cup being played in China. Qatar will play Oman, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh in Group E.
The eight groups play from September through June.
Group winners and the four best runners-up advance to another group stage, played from September 2020 to October 2021. Those 12 teams also qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup.
Four Asian teams will qualify directly for the World Cup. A fifth nation can advance to Qatar in an intercontinental playoff round in March 2022. ML, AP