The Central Asians, who lost to Bahrain in the inter-AFC playoff during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, have been slotted with Australia, Japan, Bahrain and Qatar in today’s draw at AFC House.

"It will be exciting to meet Bahrain again in a World Cup qualifier. The players will be motivated against them and I hope we will be successful this time," he told www.the-afc.com.

The AFC Coach of the Year 2007 also expressed concerns over the match schedule. "My biggest concern is the match schedule. We open our campaign against Qatar on September 6 and will host Australia four days later. Playing at home against Bahrain on February 11 during peak winter season is another worrying factor," said the 57-year-old.

"It will be good to face Australia and Japan, who play European style of football, while Qatar is also a tough team. We will arrange some friendlies with European teams before meeting these teams," he said.

Uzbekistan team manager Vadim Abramov said: "We are not afraid of any opposition. We defeated Saudi Arabia 3-0 in the third round which boosted the team’s morale. I hope the players will continue their form in the final round."