Japan and Australia have been grouped together along with Saudi Arabia, China, Oman and Vietnam in the final round of Asian qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

South Korea, seeking a 10th consecutive World Cup appearance, is the only team from the eastern zone in Group A, which also includes Iran, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The 12 teams for the final round were seeded in pairs before being divided into two groups of six during the official draw conducted at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

The final round of qualifying is set to kick off Sept. 2 and culminate on March 29, 2022, with each team playing five home and five away matches.

The winner and runner-up in each group will advance automatically to the World Cup and the third place teams will meet to determine who proceeds to an intercontinental playoff for one of the last places at Qatar.