The Garuda were drawn with three Southeast Asian rivals - Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam - with the United Arab Emirates the top seeded team. 

“I was watching the draw and you just knew how it was going to unfold, you could sense it in the room,” McMenemy said in an exclusive interview with the-AFC.com. 

“Once you saw Malaysia was playing with Indonesia, you just had this feeling of, 'Wow, wouldn’t it be interesting if Thailand and Vietnam were put in as well.'"

The Central Asian outfit were drawn against continental heavyweights Japan and neighbours Kyrgyz Republic as well as Myanmar and Mongolia in a fascinating Group F, which begins on September 5.

Toshev - whose team are in India preparing for Friday’s Intercontinental Cup final against DPR Korea - said he was at peace with Tajikistan’s group, which he rates as an even one.

Drawn alongside Chinese Taipei, Kuwait and Nepal, as well as the Vital Borkelmans-led Jordanians, Arnold said he was pleased with Australia’s initial path on the long road to Qatar 2022 and China 2023.

Wednesday's draw in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia saw India pitted against reigning AFC Asian Cup champions Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The draw, conducted by FIFA Director of Competitions Christian Unger and Australian legend Tim Cahill, saw Asia's top ranked team Islamic Republic of Iran pooled in Group C alongside Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Iran will be aiming for a third consecutive appearance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, having narrowly missed on qualifying for the knockout stage in Russia 2018.

The former Japan national team head coach will lead the War Elephants in Round Two of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 , SEA Games, and the AFC U23 Championship 2020 Finals.

Dutchman van Marwijk, who replaced Italian Alberto Zaccheroni last March, gathered his team in Munich, Germany before travelling to Salzburg where the team will spend a week before returning to Dubai on July 22.

UAE, who are among the 34 teams to have received a bye into the second round of the Asian Qualifiers, will begin their campaign on September 5 with their second match five days later.