Ange Postecoglou, Australia football coach.

AFP/Singapore

Guam’s historic World Cup qualifying win over Turkmenistan stole the limelight last week but Asia’s heavy hitters enter today looking to make a quick start on the road to Russia 2018.
After sitting out last Thursday’s opening group fixtures, Asian champions Australia and fellow World Cup 2014 teams Japan, South Korea and Iran enter the fray along with China, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Australia’s first competitive match since they lifted the Asian Cup in January is in remote Bishkek for a Group B clash against Kyrgyzstan.
The Socceroos followed up that memorable win in Sydney with a 2-2 draw against World Cup-holders Germany in March, but head coach Ange Postecoglou is wary of their Central Asian opponents despite their FIFA ranking of 173.
Although injuries have ruled out Trent Sainsbury, Massimo Luongo and Robbie Kruse, Postecoglou has named a strong squad for Australia first-ever match against the Kyrgyz side, who won 3-1 in Bangladesh in their opener last week.   
“It is probably the most challenging of the games but I’m still pretty confident we will be well prepared for it,” said the Australia coach who gathered his squad for a training camp in Dubai last week.
“We don’t have a lot of intel on the opposition because they haven’t played many games. Where we’re going—it’s the first time for us as a nation.
“But again, we have done a lot of work in the preparation to make sure that once we get there, we will be comfortable.”
South Korea will begin their bid to qualify for a ninth consecutive World Cup with a visit to Myanmar in Group G without forward Kang Soo-Il, who failed a doping test.
The 27-year-old made a public apology after he tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid, a result he blamed on a moustache-growing cream.
Japan will kick off their campaign by hosting Singapore at Saitama in Group E, while Iran will begin in Group D with a visit to Turkmenistan.
The Central Asian side will be smarting after their stunning 1-0 defeat in Guam made them the first team ever to lose a World Cup qualifier to the tiny Pacific side.

Guam vs India
Guam will host India in their second game knowing that a draw would send them to the top of Group D before the next round of fixtures in September.
However, Asian Cup semi-finalists Iraq will sit out this round of games after their intended opponents Indonesia were suspended by FIFA over political interference.
The second round of Asian qualifying features 39 teams and is also part of the qualifying process for the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Fixtures
GROUP D: Guam vs India
GROUP A: Timor-Leste vs United Arab Emirates
GROUP H: Korea DPR vs Uzbekistan
GROUP C: Bhutan vs China PR
GROUP E: Japan vs Singapore
GROUP B: Bangladesh vs Tajikistan
GROUP F: Chinese Taipei vs Thailand
GROUP E: Cambodia vs Afghanistan
GROUP G: Myanmar vs Korea Republic
GROUP G: Laos vs Lebanon
GROUP C: Hong Kong vs Maldives
GROUP A: Malaysia vs Palestine
GROUP D: Turkmenistan vs Iran
GROUP B: Kyrgyzstan vs Australia
GROUP H: Yemen vs Philippines