Iran Olympic team leaves for Iraq

TEHRAN, June 19 (MNA) -- Iran Olympic football team left Tehran for Iraq on Saturday morning to play in the London 2012 Olympic qualifier, scheduled for Sunday.

Iraq will host Iran at the Francousse Al Hareeri Stadium in Arbil City, Iraq. The second leg will be played in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on June 23.

“We know it’s a tough match but our team is fully-prepared and we are here to beat Iraq. I believe in my players and I am confident we can deliver a good performance against Iraq,” Iran’s coach Ali-Reza Mansourian said.

Asia have 3.5 places at the 2012 Games, with the 12 winners of the second round clashes to be divided into three groups of four teams in the third round.

The three group winners will qualify while the three runners up will meet in next March for a three way tournament to decide who wins the right to face an African nation for a place in London.

Second round draw:
Qatar vs India
Iraq vs Iran
Bahrain vs Thailand
Australia vs Yemen
Japan vs Kuwait
Syria vs Turkmenistan
DPR Korea vs UAE
Korea Republic vs Jordan
Uzbekistan vs Hong Kong
Saudi Arabia vs Vietnam
China vs Oman
Lebanon vs Malaysia