Japan Ranked 1st For World Cup 2014 Asian Qualifying Draw

Asian champions Japan have been ranked No.1 for the upcoming World Cup qualifying draw for the Asian Football Confederation on March 30.

Japan reached the second round of the 2010 World Cup before following it up with their Asian Cup triumph at the beginning of this year.

South Korea have been ranked second after matching the feat of the Japanese in South Africa, though they were knocked out of the Asian Cup by none other than their arch-rivals at the semi final stage.

Australia have slipped down the rankings to third, with North Korea fourth and Bahrain fifth, ahead of the likes of Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The rankings are based on performances at the last World Cup and during the qualfying rounds for the tournament.

Rankings for the 2014 Asian World Cup qualifiers:

1. Japan, 2. Korea Republic, 3. Australia, 4. DPR Korea, 5. Bahrain, 6. Saudi Arabia, 7. Iran, 8, Qatar, 9. Uzbekistan, 10. UAE, 11. Syria, 12. Oman, 13. Jordan, 14. Iraq, 15. Singapore, 16, China, 17, Kuwait, 18. Thailand, 19. Turkmenistan, 20. Lebanon, 21, Yemen, 22. Tajikistan, 23. Hong Kong, 24. Indonesia, 25. Kyrgyzstan, 26. Maldives, 27. India, 28. Malaysia, 29-30, Afghanistan, Cambodia, 31. Nepal, 32. Bangladesh, 33-34. Sri Lanka, Vietnam, 35. Mongolia, 36. Pakistan, 37. Palestine, 38. Timor Leste, 39. Macau, 40-41. Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, 42-43. Bhutan, Guam, 44-45. The Philippines, Laos