At what point do the Socceroos start asking if their World Cup qualification efforts have fallen into a Groundhog Day-style loop? After being drawn in the same group as Japan and Saudi Arabia for the third consecutive campaign, they would probably be justified in doing so.
There was almost an air of inevitability as former Samurai Blue attacker Shinji Okazaki drew Australia into a group already containing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Indonesia and China on Thursday. Iran and South Korea also loomed as potential opponents from pot one but Okazaki, who himself has featured against the Socceroos seven times, set up meetings 28 and 29 between his nation and Australia.
