Lebanon, China, North Korea Lose in Olympic Football Misery
Lebanon failed to qualify in the final round of the Asian Olympic qualifiers after losing 2-1 against Malaysia in Kuala Lampur Thursday.
China also crashed out of London 2012 Olympics qualifying in controversial circumstances while Asian champions Japan survived a scare to make it safely through to the next stage.
Australia and South Korea also booked their places in the final qualifying round alongside resurgent Malaysia, while United Arab Emirates dashed North Korean hopes with a narrow 2-1 aggregate win.
Saki Oriki eased Japanese jitters in Kuwait when he netted first at Mohammed Al Hamad Stadium, extending their advantage to 4-1. But the nerves returned when Kuwait scored twice in the second half to run the Asian giants close.
A 1-1 draw in Jordan was enough for South Korea after they convincingly won the first leg in Seoul. But Australia had no concerns as they slotted four unanswered goals past Yemen to run up a 7-0 aggregate score.
Iraq overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance 2-1 at the expense of arch-rivals Iran, while Southeast Asian champions Malaysia beat Lebanon to go through.
Among other results, Saudi Arabia finished 6-1 winners against Vietnam, Qatar ousted India and Uzbekistan booted out Hong Kong.
This week's 12 winning teams will be split into three groups of four for final qualifying, with the three top sides all gaining automatic entry to the London Olympics.
The second-placed teams go into a three-way round robin, with the winner playing off against a side from the African confederation for another ticket to the Games.
Men's football is played as an under-23 tournament at the Olympics, although the rules allow for three over-age players.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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