Tajikistan and North Korea might not be the strongest of opponents, but conditions away from home will certainly make Japan's bid to secure an early place in the final round of World Cup qualifiers difficult over the coming week.
Japan takes on Tajikistan in Dushanbe on Friday before traveling to play in Pyongyang four days later, with a win in the first fixture coupled with a loss for the North Koreans against Uzbekistan later the same day enough to put Alberto Zaccheroni's side through with two games to spare.
Japan's 8-0 mauling of the Tajiks last month in Osaka exposed the Central Asians' inability to compete with the continent's best, but Friday's game will take place on anything but a level playing field.