Second leg of Oly round two on June 23

AFC – KUALA LUMPUR, The stage is set Thursday for the second leg of the London Olympics qualifying second round which will witness 12 matches played around the continent in the Asian campaign to grab three automatic places in the games next year. Twenty-four teams clashed in the exciting first leg on June 19.

Qatar scored in the first leg with a 3-1 victory at home in a keenly contested match against underdogs India who took a surprise lead in the seventh minute before the West Asian powers equalised in the 14th, scored another in the 54th minute and sealed the win in the 69th. Qatar will travel to the Shiv Chhatrapati Stadium for the second leg.

DPR Korea were beaten 1-0 at home in the first round by the UAE with both rivals fending each other off goalless in the first half, before substitute Ali Ahmed Al Hajeri’s strike four minutes from the hour mark saw the West Asians go into the second leg with an edge. The UAE will host the East Asians at the Al Qatara Stadium for the second leg.

Oman stunned China PR 1-0 in the first leg with a fourth-minute strike by Hussain Al Hadhri with the rest of the proceedings dominated by the East Asians which failed to find the net in front of a spirited Omani defence until the final whistle was blown. The 2008 Olympic hosts will visit Oman at Al Seeb Sports Stadium for the next leg.

Asian giants Japan outclassed Kuwait 3-1 in the first leg having dominated the first half with two goals before scoring their comfortable third a minute after the hour mark with the West Asians reducing the deficit six minutes later. Takashi Sekizuka’s charges will travel to Kuwait City for the return leg on Thursday.

All eyes, however, will be on the second-leg match between archrivals Iraq and Iran at the former’s Azadi Stadium (20:00 local time) after the first leg saw the 2004 Athens Games semifinalists beaten by Iran 0-1.

The 12 winners from the second round will advance to the third round whose draw is scheduled for July 7 at AFC House.

The 12 teams will be divided into three groups of four teams each in the third round and play on a home-and-away format from September 21, 2011, to March 14, 2012, determining the winners who will represent the continent in the Olympics. Three second-placed teams from the third round will clash in a playoff at a centralised venue from March 25 to 29, 2012, and the winners of this group will meet the representatives of CAF for a berth in the Olympics.