The Koreans, who were ranked number one of the 12 teams on the basis of the Asian qualifiers and Final Round of the Men's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008, open their Group A campaign at home to Oman.

The Gulf Sultanate will be undaunted with the curtain-raiser in East Asia having stunned China with a 1-0 victory in Shanghai before advancing with a 3-1 aggregate win courtesy of two extra-time goals.

Top seeds in Group B Australia, who lost 1-0 to eventual gold medalists Argentina, at the last Olympics, are also clocking up the air miles with two away matches in the Middle East against Iraq and the UAE, and a tough trip to Central Asia where they will take on Uzbekistan.

The Olyroos, fourth-place finishers at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, some 14 years prior to joining the Asian Football Confederation, begin their campaign away to the UAE while the Uzbeks entertain Iraq, who also missed out on a bronze medal when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Italy at the 2004 Games in Athens.

Japan, the only Asian nation to claim a podium finish after they won bronze at the '68 Games in Mexico, will be quietly content with their draw after being pooled alongside Bahrain, Syria and Malaysia.

Takashi Sekizuka's side kick-off their Group C campaign by hosting Malaysia in an intriguing encounter the pits the 2010 Asian Games winners against their South East Asian Games' counterparts.

The winners of each group will qualify for the London Olympics while three runners-up will take part in a playoff at a yet-to-be-determined venue from March 25 to 29 with the winner advancing to a playoff with an African representative.

Asian Qualifiers for the Men's Olympic Football Tournament - London 2012

Group A: Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman
Group B: Australia, Iraq, Uzbekistan, UAE
Group C: Japan, Bahrain, Syria, Malaysia