SINGAPORE, Nov 24: Yemen and Turkmenistan have withdrawn from the Asian Games soccer competition less than a week before the tournament kicks off, organisers said on Friday.

Turkmenistan pulled out on Tuesday and Yemen on Thursday, organisers announced on the Games website. No reason was given for the teams' withdrawals.

The qualification process will be changed to allow the two runners-up from the first round to advance to the next stage along with the group winners.

The Asian Football Confederation is expected to announce the reason for the withdrawal of both sides over the weekend.

Yemen and Turkmenistan were among the 22 teams which automatically qualified for the second round. Yemen were due to face Kuwait, Thailand and Palestine, while Turkmenistan were drawn with Japan, North Korea and Pakistan.

The Asian Games soccer tournament gets under way on Tuesday, three days before the official Games opening.—Reuters