Bangkok, Thailand, January 26, 2020: Australia qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after defeating Uzbekistan 1-0 to clinch third place at the AFC Under-23 Championship in Thailand on Saturday.
Nick D’Agostino’s brilliant solo goal two minutes into the second half sealed the win for the Olyroos and ended Australia’s 12-year Olympic absence.
The win means Australia qualify alongside South Korea and Saudi Arabia, the finalists in the 16-team tournament, for the men’s football competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
Japan, as hosts, qualified automatically.
“It’s a wonderful achievement,” said Australian head coach Graham Arnold. “A lot of these players don’t play on weekends for their clubs and I’m really proud of the way they worked at this tournament, their attitude has been fantastic.”
Uzbekistan head coach Ljubinko Drulovic said: “I am very proud of the players as they gave everything for Uzbekistan, for the people of the country and for the fans.
“We gave our absolute best in every situation there was to qualify for the Olympics. Of course, we don’t like to lose, but sometimes things like this happens, this is football,” added the Serb.
Uzbekistan has never qualified for the Olympics.
