It will be a tall order for Malaysia even though they are ranked higher than the Middle East side on the FIFA list.
“We have to play against one of the heavyweights (seeded teams) and Lebanon are no exception even though, strangely, we hold a higher ranking (138th against 169th) than them,” said coach Ong Kim Swee after the draw at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
“Lebanon gave a strong showing in the qualifying rounds for the last Olympics (in Beijing in 2008). I have been told that they have also beaten Syria and Qatar in friendly matches.
“My immediate task is to do some research and gather information on the Lebanese Olympic side. I need to get some insight on our opponents before I get to work with my boys.”
Malaysia defeated Pakistan 2-0 on aggregate in the first round last month. In fact, the passage is bound to get tougher for Kim Swee’s charges, who are mostly from the Harimau Muda A (national Under-21) side currently playing in the Super League.
Lebanon will host the first leg on June 19 and the return match will be played in Kuala Lumpur on June 23.
Asia have 3.5 slots for the London Olympics. The 12 winners in the second round will be divided into three groups of four teams each and matches will be played from Sept 21 to March 14. The group winners qualify for the London Games.
The second-place teams will play off at a centralised venue from March 25-29 with the winners getting a tie against an African side for a place in the Olympics.
Among the interesting second-round ties is the one between arch-rivals Iraq and Iran.
Iraq, who stole the limelight by making it to the semi-finals of the 2004 Athens Olympics, are aiming to play in the Olympics for a fifth time after 1980, 1984, 1988 and 2004.
Iran reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 Montreal Olympics and also qualified for the next edition in Moscow but did not take part because of a boycott. They are also making a bid for a fifth appearance after 1964, 1972, 1976 and 1980.
Japan, who have featured eight times in the Olympics, will play against Kuwait.
The draw for the first round of the Asian qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was also conducted and Malaysia are up against Taiwan. Malaysia are at home for the first-leg on June 29 and the return match will be held on July 3. The winners play against Singapore in the second round.
In the AFC Under-19 championship, Malaysia have been drawn in Group F with defending champions North Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos.
In the Under-16 tournament, Malaysia are in Group E with defending champions North Korea, China, Timor Leste, Singapore and Macau.
THE DRAWS
Pre-Olympics (second round): Qatar vs India, Iraq vs Iran, Bahrain vs Thailand, Australia vs Yemen, Japan vs Kuwait, Syria vs Turkmenistan, North Korea vs UAE, South Korea vs Jordan, Uzbekistan vs Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia vs Vietnam, China vs Oman, Lebanon vs Malaysia.
Pre-World Cup (first round): Malaysia vs Taiwan, Bangladesh vs Pakistan, Cambodia vs Laos, Sri Lanka vs the Philippines, Afghanistan vs Palestine, Vietnam vs Macau, Nepal vs Timor Leste, Mongolia vs Myanmar.
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