HONG KONG, Sept 20: Asian football giants Japan, South Korea and Australia are eyeing winning starts when the final round of Asian qualifying for next year’s Olympics gets under way on Wednesday.
The three heavyweights will be hot favourites to top their respective groups and secure qualification as 12 teams jostle for coveted slots at the London Games.
Australia face unfancied UAE in Adelaide, with coach Aurelio Vidmar confident his side can reach the Olympics.
“There’s good spirit, the players are super keen and what I like most is they’re a close, tight, group,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “The important thing is to win your home games, which is why we need to get off to a good start.”
The other fixture in Group ‘B’ is in Tashkent and sees Uzbekistan taking on Iraq.
In Group ‘A’, South Korea take on Oman in Changwon while Saudi Arabia and Qatar meet in Riyadh.
For Japan, the reward for beating Kuwait is a Group ‘C’ home game in Tosu against Malaysia.—AFP
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