Coachless Iran beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium. Bakhtiar Rahmani scored the Persians’ sole goal from a free kick in the 34th minute.
“We could have won with more goals but our strikers didn’t take advantage of their chances. We will win the second leg,” Iran’s caretaker Hooman Afazeli said in a post match news conference.
Iran has qualified for the Olympic Games in the past three times, in 1964, 1972 and 1976.
All second leg matches have been scheduled for March 9, with the exception of the return fixture between Sri Lanka and the UAE which takes place two days later at the same venue as the first leg.
The 11 winners will join the 13 highest ranked teams in the second round where they will again play in a home-and-away format on June 19 and June 23.
