World Cup draw looks good for Taegeuk Warriors

South Korea has been placed in Group G with Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar and Laos for the second round of Asia qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

For the first time, Asia’s FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign will also serve as the qualifier for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The second round draw saw 40 teams split into eight groups of five, with the eight group winners and four second-place teams advancing to Asia’s final FIFA World Cup qualifying round as well as the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The second round lasts nine months starting June 11 and runs until March 29, 2016, with each team playing at home and away in a round-robin format across 10 match days. The third round of Asia’s Russia 2018 qualifiers is scheduled to begin in late 2016.

The second-round draw was based on world rankings as of April 9 and South Korea, ranked 57th in the world and third in Asia, was among the eight countries that received the top seeds.

Meanwhile, North Korea was placed in Group H along with Uzbekistan, Bahrain, the Philippines and Yemen.