The second round of the qualification for the 2018 World Cup in the Asian region has been drawn, featuring 40 teams with varying levels of expectation as to how far they will get along the road to Russia.
There is an awful lot of football to be played in the coming weeks, months and even years but Sport360 takes a quick look at some of the issues that have been thrown up as eight groups of five try to squeeze into the final round of qualification that will contain just 12 teams.
Biggest game
Despite the scale of the draw there are not many ties that stand out in terms of size. Perhaps the biggest is going to be two games between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Here you have a traditional powerhouse looking to restore its position at the top table of continental football while the UAE have been trying that seat out themselves.
There will be plenty of talent on display when it all kicks off with two of Asia's biggest stars when Saudi Arabia's Nasser Al Shamrani meets the great hope of UAE Omar Abdulrahman. That should be quite a showdown.
Most hotly anticipated match
Here there are plenty to choose from. The game between Thailand and Indonesia should be a cracker on and off the pitch. Teams such as Afghanistan and Cambodia will surely relish the chance to take on the might of Japan while Australia face three teams they have never faced before: Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The big one though could well be Hong Kong and China. There were riots in the eighties in Beijing when these two met in qualification and given recent political situation in the Special Administrative Region, there could be quite a clash.
Biggest distance to travel
Timor Leste will have a trip of around 9,300 km to Saudi Arabia with Guam and Oman not far different. As you would expect however, it is far-flung Australia that wins this contest. For the game with Jordan, players leaving Sydney have a trip of over 14,000km to get to Amman -and vice versa, of course.
Biggest mismatch
While always unpredictable, you do fear a little for Cambodia as they travel to Saitama on September 3 to face Japan. Cambodia may not be the weakest team of the 40 but are not far away and taking on the Samurai Blue, still the number one national team in Asia, in front of 60,000 fans just north of Tokyo will be quite an experience. Japan are not known for their ruthlessness in front of goal but this could be a little different.
Toughest group
Groups G and H have a reasonable solidity all the way through. South Korea meets Kuwait (who performed well at the 2015 Asian Cup), Lebanon (made the final round of qualification for 2014) as well as an improving Myanmar and a Laos team that will likely end in last but has some talent.
Uzbekistan, Bahrain and North Korea have all either qualified for the World Cup or came very close to doing so in recent years. Yemen are an improving team though will suffer from playing home games on neutral ground while the Philippines were South-east Asia's top ranked team until last month.
Group A is another tasty affair with UAE and Saudi Arabia. Timor Leste and Palestine are capable of upsetting a few and Malaysia are perhaps the strongest of the weakest seeds.
Biggest potential surprise
Guam may be tiny in terms of population but are capable of getting good results against the likes of India, Oman and Turkmenistan even if doing so against Iran is asking a little too much.
China's first game comes away in the mountain kingdom of Bhutan and that will be a tricky trip. Myanmar at home to Korea would be tough for the Taeguks but a neutral venue will help the away side but the biggest scalp of all could be Saudi Arabia.
In the opening game of Group A, the Green Falcons make the short trip to Palestine. It will be quite an atmosphere and it is revealing that Riyadh are arguing that the game should be played at a neutral venue.
Biggest potential flop
In truth, the top seeds should all be able to negotiate their way through this stage. The opening up of the round to all of Asia increases interest but it will take time for the smallest nations to seriously trouble the elite.
It would be a major shock if Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia – the top four teams in the AFC – fail to finish in first and take an automatic place in the final round. Of the four other first seeds, it is less clear cut. China will face a major challenge from Qatar while UAE will have to see off Saudi Arabia.
Iraq is a possibility though but even this inconsistent team that plays its homes games away, often struggles with preparation and off the field issues, should have enough talent to see off the South-east Asian challenge of Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Uzbekistan will face some very tough overseas trips to North Korea and Bahrain. The White Wolves should still make it but it could be close.
