Uzbekistan in final chance to join world's elite at Tokyo 2020

Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia booked their berths by advancing to the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 final on Wednesday, joining hosts Japan as three of Asia's four representatives.

Korea Republic were commanding in their 2-0 semi-final win over Australia while Saudi Arabia struck late to defeat 2018 champions Uzbekistan 1-0.

The semi-final defeats mean Australia and Uzbekistan have one final chance to make the Olympics, ensuring their third-place playoff tie will be a blockbuster affair at the Rajamangala Stadium.

Australia are seeking to qualify for their first Olympics since Beijing 2008 while Uzbekistan are bidding for a maiden appearance at the global showpiece.

Saudi Arabia confirmed a first appearance at the Olympics since Atlanta 1996 while Korea Republic will be playing in their ninth consecutive tournament, having won the bronze medal in London 2012.

Confederations that have confirmed their teams for the 16-team men's football competition at the Olympics are UEFA, Oceania and CAF.

Europe will be represented by France, Germany, Romania and Spain while New Zealand won the Oceania qualifiers. Africa's three representatives are Egypt, Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa.

The two South American teams will be decided during the ongoing qualifiers, which end on February 9 in Colombia.

CONCACAF will have its qualifying event on March 20-April 1 in Mexico, with two spots to be filled. The tournament draw will take place in Tokyo on April 20.

Source: The-AFC.com