Yoichiro Kakitani opened the scoring for Nagoya with a fine strike in the first half before goals from substitute Mateus put the game beyond Pohang's reach.

Nagoya lead the Group G standings with six points, three ahead of Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim, who edged Ratchaburi FC of Thailand 1-0 to sit ahead of Pohang on goal difference

Goals from Yoichiro Kakitani and Mateus gave the Japanese side maximum points from two matches while Pohang suffered the first defeat of their campaign.

Leandro Velazquez’s second half strike was enough to give Benjamin Mora’s side all three points as Johor Darul Ta'zim sit second in Group G with three points, ahead of Korea Republic’s Pohang Steelers on goal difference.

This fight is very much a David vs Goliath clash, as the reigning Asian champions meet a debutant team well known for their resilience on the domestic scene.

Having never faced each other before, the two sides are in a rich vein of form going into the competition with the Kawasaki-based side having gone unbeaten in all competitions since November 2020, which was also the last time they failed to score a goal. Their Daegu-based opponents have not lost a match since mid-April.

The 12 went through extremely challenging times to advance to the final round, with the two group winners and runners-up to join hosts Qatar in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Finals while the third-placed teams from the two groups will advance to the Confederation Playoff, with the winners moving into the Inter-Confederation Playoff.

Ahead of the draw, the-AFC.com retraces how the 12 teams booked their places from the second round of qualifying. We kick off our series by taking a look at Group A.

The 12 went through extremely challenging times to advance to the final round, with the two group winners and runners-up to join hosts Qatar in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Finals while the third-placed teams from the two groups will advance to the Confederation Playoff, with the winners moving into the Inter-Confederation Playoff.

Ahead of the draw, the-AFC.com retraces how the 12 sides booked their places from the second round of qualifying. Having taken a look at Group A, we review Group B in the latest installment.