PUSAN, South Korea -- Japan got a break in the draw for next year's World Cup finals on Saturday after being drawn to face Belgium, Russia and Tunisia in the first round.
The cohosts managed to avoid the bigger teams in the draw and will be confident of advancing to the second round. Japan will face fellow Group H team Belgium in Saitama on June 4, Russia at Yokohama on June 9 and Tunisia in Osaka on June 14, the final day of first round matches.
Even better, Japan has not lost to any of its opponents in previous matches, having beaten Tunisia 1-0 in 1996 and securing a 0-0 draw against Belgium five years ago. It also beat Russia 3-2 in 1995 at under-21 level.