DRAW: 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA PRELIMINARY QUALIFICATION ROUND 2

AUSTRALIA’S road to Russia 2018 will feature trips to Bishkek, Dhaka, Dushanbe.

Asia's 2018 FIFA World Cup hopefuls learned their fate on Tuesday when the draw for the second 

round draw of continental qualifiers was held in the Malaysian capital.

Some 40 sides were placed in eight groups of five teams each for the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Draw:

Group A: 1. UAE 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Palestine 4. Timor-Leste 5. Malaysia 

Group B: 1. Australia 2. Jordan 3. Tajikistan 4. Kyrgyzstan 5. Bangladesh

Group C: 1. China 2. Qatar 3. Maldives 4. Bhutan 5. Hong Kong

Group D: 1. Iran 2. Oman 3. India 4. Turkmenistan 5. Guam

Group E: 1. Japan 2. Syria 3. Afghanistan 4. Singapore 5. Cambodia

Group F: 1. Iraq 2. Vietnam 3. Thailand 4. Indonesia 5. Chinese Taipei

Group G: 1. Korea Republic 2. Kuwait 3. Lebanon 4. Myanmar 5. Laos

Group H: 1. Uzbekistan 2. Bahrain 3. Philippines 4. DPR Korea 5. Yemen

What Next:

The teams will compete according to a double round robin format, and the Round 2 qualification matches will be held from June 11, 2015 to March 29, 2016.

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Fixture Schedule:

Matchday 1 – June 11, 2015 = 3 v 2 and 5 v 4
Matchday 2 – June 16, 2015 = 4 v1 and 5 v 3
Matchday 3 – September 3, 2015 = 1 v 5 and 2 v 4
Matchday 4 – September 8, 2015 = 5 v 2 and 3 v1
Matchday 5 – October 8, 2015 = 4 v 3 and 2 v 1
Matchday 6 – October 13, 2015 = 2 v 3 and 4 v 5
Matchday 7 – November 12, 2015 = 1 v 4 and 3 v 5
Matchday 8 – November 17, 2015 = 5 v 1 and 4 v 2
Matchday 9 – March 24, 2015 = 2 v 5 and 1 v 3
Matchday 10 – Match 29, 2015 = 3 v 4 and 1 v 2