Target Tokyo: Graham Arnold unveils 23-player Olyroos squad for Asian Championships

The Olyroos are set to play South Korea in a final warm-up friendly on January 3, before formally commencing their campaign on the tournament’s opening night in a clash with Iraq at the Thammasat Stadium in Rangsit. 

That will be followed by meetings with the host nation on January 11 in Bangkok and a rising Bahrain side back in Rangsit on January 14. 

Should they do enough to finish as one of the top two finishers in Group A and earn progression to the knockout stages, Australia would then meet one of two qualifiers from a strong Group B featuring Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Syria in the quarterfinals.

With Japan having already punched their tickets to the Olympics by virtue of their host status, only the top three finishers in Thailand are guaranteed a place at Tokyo 2020. That requirement will be stretched to four, though, if the Blue Samurai is one of the championship’s semi-finalists. 

Unfortunately for Arnold’s side, the weight of history may be against them.

Despite qualifying for all three previous staging’s of the AFC’s U23 Championships, Australia has yet to progress to the final four – their best result coming in Oman in 2013 when they reached the quarterfinals.

In the two most recent iterations of the competition in 2016 and 2018, the Olyroos failed to progress beyond the group stages.

Coincidentally, Australia’s last qualification came under current-gaffer Arnold back in 2008, when he was an assistant coach to then-Socceroos boss Pim Verbeek.

Opening their run with a 1-1 draw with Serbia in Beijing, the Olyroos would lose 1-0 to Argentina thanks to an Ezequiel Lavezzi goal in their second game and 1-0 to a strike from Ivory Coast’s Salomon Kalou in their final game to exit in the group stages.

Australia U-23 Men’s National Team Squad | AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020