India face Lebanon in WC qualifiers

India will face Lebanon in the first round of regional qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, according to the draw on Monday.

Newly crowned Asian champions Iraq will take on Pakistan. Iraq, who emerged as the surprise winners of last month's Asian Cup, will travel to Pakistan for the first leg on Oct. 8 before playing at a yet-to-be-determined venue in the home tie on Oct. 28.

The United Arab Emirates will be aiming for quick revenge against Vietnam after they were drawn together. The Gulf Cup champions were beaten 2-0 by the Asian Cup co-hosts in their Group B match on July 8.

The top five Asian countries based on performances at the 2006 World Cup in Germany -- Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iran -- were all excluded from the first two knockout stages.

Of the 19 first-round winners, 11 will join the top seeds in the third round group stages while the other eight must win through a second round knockout competition.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions director Carlo Nohra said the teams were ranked based on the previous World Cup.

"Because the top five played in the last World Cup, we felt they deserved to go straight through to the third round," Nohra told Reuters.

Countries in conflict zones -- Iraq, Afghanistan and possibly Palestine, will not be able to play at home.

Nohra said these countries would be asked to designate their home venues to the AFC.

For the Asian Cup qualifiers, Iraq played their home matches in Jordan.

The third round will feature five groups of four teams with the top two in each group advancing to a fourth round comprising two groups of five teams.

The top two teams from each group after the fourth round qualify for the World Cup, with third-placed teams facing each other in a playoff and the winner meeting the Oceania Football Confederation representative for a place in South Africa.

AFC World Cup qualifying first-round draw. (AFC ranking in brackets)

Pakistan (35) v Iraq (12)
Uzbekistan (7) v Taiwan (32)
Thailand (19) v Macau (34)
Sri Lanka (30) v Qatar (16)
China (10) v Myanmar (42)
Bhutan (41) v Kuwait (8)
Kyrgystan (26) v Jordan (11)
Vietnam (25) v United Arab Emirates (15)
Bahrain (6) v Malaysia (31)
East Timor (43) v Hong Kong (23)
Syria (17) v Afghanistan (36)
Yemen (25) v Maldives (27)
Bangladesh (33) v Tajikistan (21)
Mongolia (37) v North Korea (9)
Oman (14) v Nepal (39)
Palestine (18) v Singapore (29)
Lebanon (13) v India (28)
Cambodia (40) v Turkmenistan (20)
Guam (38) v Indonesia (22)

First leg on Oct. 8, return leg on Oct. 28.