Asia's 10-team final round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers kicks off on Saturday, with Japan's bid for a fourth successive appearance in soccer's biggest event starting with a tricky away game against Bahrain in Group A. Qatar host Uzbekistan in the other Group A match on Saturday.

Group B kicks off with a showdown between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Riyadh, while UAE host DPR Korea in Abu Dhabi.

Bahrain stunned Japan 1-0 five months ago in the previous round of qualifying, a result that almost derailed the former Asian champions' World Cup hopes of reaching South African 2010.

Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura has urged Japan, Asia's top-ranked side, to be "crafty" when they play Bahrain.

"Middle East sides tend to be loose when it comes to details, so we must become a little bit crafty against them," Nakamura told Japan's Sports Hochi.

"We'd like to be quick in set plays and throw-ins, as well as going for goals in a beautiful way. Bahrain will stage counter-attacks if we make our mistakes, so it's important for us to compete as a tight unit and launch our own counter-attacks," the30-year-old added.

Takeshi Okada, in his second stint as national coach after guiding Japan to a winless World Cup finals debut in France 1998, was alarmed by his side's 3-1 loss to Uruguay in a home friendly on Aug. 20.

Okada has called up three other Europe-based midfielders -- Junichi Inamoto (Eintracht Frankfurt), Daisuke Matsui (Saint Etienne) and Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg) -- for what he termed a crucial match "with my back to the wall". Also in the squad is former Torino striker Masashi Oguro.

Bahrain coach Milan Macala has no intention of making things easy for the 2000 and 2004 AFC Asian Cup winners. "Things have been going very well and all the players are ready. All our work for the Japan test is complete," Macala said in Manama, as reported on the-afc.com.

"We've already beaten them here and we can do it again. This match is very important for both teams, especially for us, and I hope to see our stadium packed on Saturday, which will give our players more confidence," the 63-year-old added.

Australia, who play a friendly against the Netherlands on Saturday, are the top-seeded team in Group A and begin their campaign on Wednesday (Matchday Two), with a tough trip against the highly rated Uzbekistan side in Tashkent. Qatar will host Bahrain in the second match for both teams.

In Group B, Saudi Arabia face a tough opening test against Iran on Saturday. The Saudis are aiming for their fifth successive World Cup, while Iran, managed by legendary former striker Ali Daei, are going for their fourth appearance at the finals following appearances in 1978, 1998 and 2006.

UAE's match against DPR Korea pits two teams who have each reached the World Cup only once before, the Emirates in Italy in 1990 and the DPR Koreans in England in 1966.

The final round of Asian World Cup qualifiers features two groups of five teams who play each other home and away, with the top two teams next June gaining an automatic berth at South African 2010. The third-placed team in each group then play each other for the chance to compete against Oceania's representatives for a place in the 32-team finals.

Source:Xinhua