Who will qualify for the 2014 World Cup from Asia?

Qualification for the 2014 Fifa World Cup through the Asian Football Confederation is already down to 20 nations, but the process heats up on Friday when the regional heavyweights such as Japan, Australia and South Korea begin their respective campaigns in the third round.

The third round pits five groups of four nations, with the top two from each group to progress to the fourth and final phase of qualifying.

Japan, Australia and South Korea all qualified through Asia for 2010 and it was those three nations that claimed the top three spots at the 2011 Asian Cup.

However, they won’t have it easy in the third round of qualifiers as several Asian nations that have failed to reach the World Cup finals in recent times have lured well-known foreign coaches in a bid to find the magic formula.

There’s a complete second round of fixtures to be completed on Tuesday too, meaning the qualification process will begin to take shape in Asia in the next week. As always, a good start is imperative to a solid qualification campaign. Here’s Goal.com‘s group-by-group analysis:

GROUP A:

CHINA

JORDAN

IRAQ

SINGAPORE

It’s hard to choose a clear favourite in Group A, but China will be boosted by the presence of former Real Madrid and Spain coach Juan Antonio Camacho. Currently there are no Chinese national team players plying their trade in Europe, but there is talent among the squad including midfielders Hao Junmin and Huang Bowen.

There’s also recently been a concerted effort by the Chinese Football Association – with significant financial backing – to improve the state of football in the country, suggesting this is a team building towards something special.

Iraq, the 2007 Asian Cup winners, recently dismissed Wolfgang Sidka despite guiding the Lions of Mesopotamia to the quarter-finals of the 2011 Asian Cup where Australia needed an extra-time Harry Kewell goal to eliminate them. Sidka’s departure may be curious to some, but Iraq have since hired Brazilian legend Zico to their top job and he has extensive Asian experience as Japan’s coach.

Adnan Hamad’s Jordan are a danger too, having reached the quarter-finals of the 2011 Asian Cup, while Singapore are the outsiders.

GROUP B:

SOUTH KOREA

KUWAIT

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

LEBANON

After reaching the World Cup Last 16 and finishing third at the 2011 Asian Cup, Cho Kwang-Rae’s South Korea are the clear favourites in this group, but they will be tested by three long away trips.

Cho is also under some pressure in Korea after failing to convince the locals with the side’s performances, and last month’s 3-0 loss to rivals Japan hasn’t helped with journalists and fans calling for Park Ji-Sung to come out of retirement. Bolton’s Lee Chung-Yong will miss most of the third round qualifiers too, after suffering a broken leg in pre-season.

Kuwait are arguably favourites to progress with Korea, although they were considered dark horses at the 2011 Asian Cup after winning the [Persian] Gulf of Nations Cup and West Asian Cup in 2010 before crashing out in Qatar without a point.

UAE reached the fourth round four years ago and no less will be accepted from current coach Srecko Katanec who has recently denied rumours of player unrest in his current squad. Lebanon, meanwhile, are led by German Theo Bucker but considering recent results, they appear set to struggle.

GROUP C:

JAPAN

UZBEKISTAN

TAJIKISTAN

NORTH KOREA

Alberto Zaccheroni’s Asian champions have been dealt the toughest group of any in the third round of Asian qualifiers, up against 2010 World Cup finalists North Korea and 2011 Asian Cup semi-finalists Uzbekistan. However, Japan will feel confident they can progress with Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa fit again after a long-term foot injury.

Uzbekistan‘s run to the semi-finals at the 2011 Asian Cup will have them feeling more comfortable, particularly following their poor showing in 2010 qualifiers when they lost three games 1-0 at home in the fourth round. Coach Vadim Abramov has so far done a solid job since taking over in 2010 and there is optimism in the camp.

North Korea remain something of a mystery although they have been playing a few more friendlies in recent times, while star striker Jong Tae-Se will look forward to testing his wits against Japan where he was born and raised.

Meanwhile, Tajikistan are expected to be the whipping boys of the group after earning a last-minute reprieve to be part of the third round, following Syria’s elimination for fielding an ineligible player in their second round tie. Tajikistan had lost that tie 6-1 and aren’t expected to perform much better against stronger opponents.

GROUP D:

AUSTRALIA

SAUDI ARABIA

OMAN

THAILAND

The Socceroos go into Group D as the outright favourites although two long trips to the Middle East won’t favour them. Holger Osieck has Australia playing fluid and positive football after an unconvincing period under Pim Verbeek who may have taken the Socceroos to the World Cup finals, but never fully won over the supporters.

Saudi Arabia and Oman, meanwhile, have both been busy preparing for their 2014 World Cup campaigns by signing big-name European coaches in former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard and ex-Olympique Lyon and Cameroon manager Paul Le Guen respectively.

Rijkaard has the task of taking the Green Falcons to their first World Cup since 2006, which won’t be easy following their 2011 Asian Cup showing where they went home without a point and without a coach.

Le Guen has already admitted it’s a bit of a dream for Oman to reach the World Cup finals, but the 2009 [Persian] Gulf Cup of Nations champions have proven plucky opponents before. Finally, Thailand may find the going tough, although coach Winfried Schafer will try to utilise their unique home conditions to the best of their advantage.

GROUP E:

IRAN

QATAR

BAHRAIN

INDONESIA

Group E presents plenty of intrigue with three West Asian nations that all reached the final round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup up against each other.

Bahrain, beaten in the inter-confederation playoff in the past two World Cups, are a team that should never be under-estimated in this type of competition, although the nation’s recent political unrest may have a destabilising effect on them. National team regulars A’ala, Muhamed Hubail and Sayed Mohamed Adnan were put in detention for their involvement in the protests in Manama and may never wear the Bahrain shirt again. One-time England boss Peter Taylor is a curious appointment to Bahrain’s coaching job too.

Iran also made an interesting appointment as recently as April, in the shape of former Real Madrid and Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz. He has had mixed success in his previous high-profile roles and faces a challenge full of scrutiny in charge of Team Melli who were underwhelming in their 2010 qualifying campaign.

Qatar also recently opted for a change of coach with ex-Ghana boss Milovan Rajevac axed in August after barely six months in charge. Experienced Brazilian Sebastiao Lazaroni takes the reins after impressing at club level in Qatar.

Indonesia fit the mould of this group too, with Dutchman Wim Rijsbergen taking over from the recently sacked Alfred Riedl. The Dutchman has a tough job on his hands, with Team Garuda to face some difficult away trips.