While the news is still to be officially confirmed, the decision would leave the Australia and New Zealand bid as one of only two remaining, alongside Colombia.

If FIFA's technical committee report was anything to go by, then Japan was the AsOne bid's only serious contender at this stage. FIFA's reporting evaluated the AsOne bid at 4.1 points out of 5 and Japan's at 3.9, with Colombia's scoring in the mid 2s.

More to come.