I guess New Zealand it is the easiest of the three options but the Kiwis have some good young players. They can keep it closer than people think.
The only thing is that the South American teams will probably have full stadiums with fans foaming at the mouth to cheer their team to victory. Australia and Japan may still be playing in empty/half empty stadiums for all I know. That can be a major factor.
Well, the first four teams in CONCACAF should be breathing easier now. Australia or Japan will have to play Colombia, Peru, Chile or Uruguay most likely. New Zealand is beatable.
True. Will fans be allowed to travel? South American fans usually travel better for things like this. Peru fans basically owned the streets of Russia during their WC game days.
New Zealand has a lot of youth coming up. I think their chances against Panama in Qatar would be at least 50/50. If it was Canada, US, or Mexico I'd definately favor them.
Yes they will allow fans, but I think Australians or Japanese would travel just as well. If the Saudis slip up and finish 3rd in their group I would heavily favor the Conembol side. Against Japan or Australia, it would be a slight favor, depending on who is #5 it might even be dead even.
Not so sure they would travel as well but we shall see how the tickets are allotted and how their travel protocols/quarantine restriction are by then and such.
Yes, all top four teams should be able to beat New Zealand. Canada and Panama will be especially battle hardened after 20 qualifying games already.
If Japan or Australia represent Asia, none of the playoff teams will be near Qatar. Sydney is seven time zone from Doha. Tokyo and central Australia are six time zones away. Panama is closer to Doha than CONMEBOL teams other than Brazil; Sydney, Australia; and Auckland, New Zealand. https://www.fifa.com/news/canada-hit-the-front-in-concacaf is titled "Canada hit the front in Concacaf." Oceania will have their draw on Monday. At one point they announced they would have a group of six and a group of five, with two teams per group advancing, and then semifinals and a final. However, I would be surprised if they had teams play up to seven games in one month. I suggest two groups of four and one group of three with the best second place team excluding the game against the fourth place team joining the group winners in the Semifinals. That would take five matchdays.