Australia and Japan on cusp of World Cup

SINGAPORE: Australia and Japan are poised to be among the first teams to qualify for the World Cup finals on Saturday, and they are determined to grab the opportunity.

The Socceroos are unbeaten in their five Asian Group A games and can book their place in South Africa by either beating or drawing with Qatar in the searing heat of Doha.

Japan will join them if they take all three points against Uzbekistan in Tashkent, leaving Qatar, Bahrain and the Uzbeks to battle for the third place play-off slot.