Asian and Caribbean upsets, tight battles in South America and a first-ever win for American Samoa were among the latest qualifying tales as the race for Brazil 2014 heated up.
Asian champions Japan may not have it all their own way on the road to Brazil after they were pitted against fellow South African 2010 qualifiers Korea DPR, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in Group C. Elsewhere Australia will take on Saudi Arabia.
FIFA.com reviews the latest round of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying in Asia, which saw the traditional favourites take an advantage over their underdog opponents.
Asia's FIFA World Cup preliminaries have been decided,
with the continent's big five set to start with home fixtures
against the groups' underdogs.
The Asian confederation has produced more than its fair share of joy and drama in FIFA World Cup qualifying down through the years.
A 2-2 draw in India helped Lebanon to a 6-3 aggregate win and a place in the third stage of Asian qualification for South Africa 2010.
