Bhutan praying for dream Japan tie in World Cup

By Patrick Johnston (Reuters) - When the second round draw for Asian World Cup qualifying takes place in Kuala Lumpur next week, fans, players and officials in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan will be praying for one outcome. "The people here want Japan because most of the youth out here are fans of Kagawa because he played for Manchester United," Bhutan Football Federation official Phutsho Wangdi told Reuters. "Japan would be the first choice and especially our players too. They said if we play them, its like a dream come true for them because they are their heroes. We grew up watching them." There is another reason to want Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda and the rest of the record four-times Asian champion's squad to play at the picturesque Changlimithang Stadium - money. The world's worst side at 209th in the FIFA rankings, Bhutan received no funding from the government and played only two matches in two years. Those matches, though, were against Sri Lanka in the first round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which resulted in a miraculous 3-1 aggregate win on their tournament debut. Only their fourth and fifth victories ever. They now await Tuesday's draw where 40 teams, including Asian champions Australia and Japan, will be drawn into groups of five guaranteeing eight matches. "If we get Australia or Japan or maybe South Korea, we will get the TV guys coming from there and we will make some money," said Wangdi, who oversees marketing at the federation. "If Japan comes here we are going to make a hell of a lot of money," he laughed. The jovial spirit is flowing through Bhutanese football since last month's stunning 1-0 win in Colombo and nervy 2-1 success in Thimphu, where around 20,000 people packed into the high altitude stadium with many more outside the gates willing their side to victory. Football rivals Archery for popularity in Bhutan, a Buddhist nation wedged in the Himalayas between India and China, but local fans look to English teams for their fill. The Sri Lanka results have changed things, though. The local league, which features seven clubs, used to get only 100 fans but over 6,000 have turned up after Wangdi and his team ramped up promotional efforts in a country where television was banned until the late 1990s. The government have now provided funding and the Changlimithang Stadium is being renovated ahead of the four home World Cup qualifiers. "It's a huge achievement for Bhutan and I think the football is really picking up a furious pace right now," he said. Expectations of a young team made of students and workers -- their captain is a fulltime pilot for the national carrier -- remain in check, however. Only striker Chencho Gyeltshen plays outside of the country in Thailand. "We know we can never make it through to the World Cup but we want to face some of the big Asian names, like Japan, Australia, South Korea. This is a one-time opportunity for our team and the people of Bhutan," Wangdi said. "Even if we face a team like Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore they are pretty much far more advanced than our boys." But before Tuesday's draw in the Malaysian capital comes another important date in the calendar, the release of the updated FIFA rankings on Thursday. Bhutan are expected to rise to a record position of 163rd. Wangdi is just looking forward to avoiding the name calling. "The most hurtful was the basement boys. The numbers don't really matter, we know our strengths, we can beat India or Bangladesh also. Its just that we don't get enough matches." (Editing by Julian Linden)