Draw for Round 2 of AFC World Cup Qualifying

The draw for Round-2 of the 2020 Men's World Cup for Asia is in.

Group A: China PR, Syria, Philippines, Maldives, Guam

Group B: Australia, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait, Nepal

Group C: IR Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Cambodia

Group D: Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen, Singapore

Group E: Bangladesh, Oman, India, Afghanistan, Qatar

Group F: Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Mongolia

Group G: United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia

Group H: Korea Republic, Lebanon, Korea DPR, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka

My analysis:
It's hard to argue against China and Japan getting cushy draws; Guam, Maldive, the Philippines are terrible and Syria is marginally okay. China is a decent team, but hardly a first tier team in Asia. They may struggle a bit against Syria, which is a testimony to how weak the bracket is, then how good China or Syria are.

In Group F it is literally Japan and some other countries. Tajikistan will likely finish 2nd, though Kyrgyz Republic could take it as well. Japan coasts in this bracket. The only question is by how many goals does Japan pummel each team before they get bored?

Group H is the Group of Death for this draw. It has three legitimate teams in the bracket: Korea, Korea and Lebanon. While none of these teams will ever be mistaken for Germany, France and Argentina, South Korea has qualified for every world cup since the World Cup in Mexico, North Korea, while not qualifying in the last cup did attend in South Africa and Lebanon is always competitive, often surviving into the final 12