Japan avoided the "Group of Death" but still ended up having to play defending champion Brazil in the first round of next year's World Cup finals after the draw was made in Leipzig, Germany, on Friday.
The Boys in Blue also face fellow Group F team Australia in Kaiserslautern on June 12 and Croatia in Nuremburg on June 18, before they head to Dortmund for their final game against coach Zico's native Brazil on June 22.
"We've been drawn against my home country. This kind of thing happens and it doesn't really surprise me," Zico told reporters in Leipzig.