Culpi, who was in his fourth stint as head coach of the club, has been replaced by Akio Kogiku with Cerezo 12th in the J1 standings following a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Shonan Bellmare on Wednesday.

As the third round of the Asian Qualifiers gets underway in a few days’ time, the-AFC.com profiles each of the 12 teams in the two groups in terms of history and key players.

Giants of Asian football on all levels, Saudi Arabia returned to the FIFA World Cup in 2018 after an absence of 12 years and will be hoping to make it back-to-back appearances for the first time since qualifying for 2002 and 2006.

Ahead of the start of the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to Qatar, the-AFC.com previews each of the teams in the two groups, their history and the players they will be counting on to put them on the grandest stage of all.

Three decades on from their only appearance at the FIFA World Cup, the United Arab Emirates have grown in stature to become perennial contenders in AFC competitions and the latter stages of the Qualifiers, but can 2022 finally be the year they make it all the way?

With four direct qualification spots up for grabs, and the continent’s top players and coaches going all out to turn their dreams into reality, join us as we preview the contenders.

Here we examine Australia, the now-habitual FIFA World Cup participants who overcame a range of difficulties to establish a perfect record in their qualifying campaign thus far, but who will need to stare down all new challenges in order to keep it.

The-AFC.com dives deep into the 12 nations who will be taking part in the upcoming festival of football assessing and analysing the key men, highlighting the history, and giving a general insight into the teams battling out for a place at Qatar 2022.

Perennial powerhouse Korea Republic will not just be hoping for, but expecting qualification to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with a track record at the Asian Qualifiers that bears testament to that confidence.

While AFC Asian Cup holders Qatar have already claimed a place as the FIFA World Cup hosts, the top two nations in each of the continent’s two qualifying groups will also advance to the Finals while the third-placed finishers will enter into a playoff to potentially claim a further spot for Asia.

Here we take a look at the prospects of Japan, the top seeds in Group B and habitual qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup.

Over the coming days, the-AFC.com will break down each of the 12 nations still standing, their key men and what it all means in the context of history as they vie for a ticket to the greatest show on earth.

A true powerhouse of the Asian game, Islamic Republic of Iran are targeting a third successive FIFA World Cup appearance and their exceptional strike force makes them one of the favourites to qualify.