The draw, which took place today in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, saw a total of 40 nations separated into eight individual pools with five teams in each.

Each will play home and away against the four other sides in their group, with matches taking place from June 11 until March 29 of next year.

Australia, defeated in all three of their matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, have never played Group B opponents Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan or Bangladesh in a full international and have only met Jordan twice, registering a win and loss in the two matches.

“The draw is certainly an interesting one and throws up some games against unfamiliar countries but the first phase of qualifying is about us and making sure we maintain our high standards on and off the field,” said Australia head coach Ange Postecoglou.

“Over the past 18 months we have taken great pride in being the best we can be on and off the field and we will face some logistical and footballing challenges, but we’ll continue to work hard to make sure we are ready for whatever challenges we face.

“We now have to prepare for Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Tajikstan and Jordan and continue our journey.

“We have another eight international matches to continue to give the core of the squad more experience while offering some opportunities to younger players to ensure we build depth.”

Asia's top-ranked country Iran were pitted against India, Oman, Turkmenistan and Guam in Group D, while South Korea, runners-up to Australia at this year’s Asian Cup, face Lebanon, Myanmar, Kuwait and Laos in Group G.

Qatar, who are set to follow Russia as World Cup hosts in 2022, have been drawn against Bhutan, China, Hong Kong and the Maldives in Group C, while Japan Syria, Afghanistan, Singapore and Cambodia make up Group E.

Group F features Iraq, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan, while Uzbekistan were placed alongside North Korea, Yemen, Bahrain and Philippines in Group H. 

Meanwhile in Group A, Saudi Arabia ended up with Palestine, East Timor, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The winner of the eight groups and the four best runners-up progress to the next stage of the World Cup qualifying process and also ensure entry into the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The remaining 28 teams will compete for the other 11 places at the Asian Cup, which has been expanded from 16 to 24 sides for 2019, with hosts, the UAE, filling the remaining place. 

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