Besides the prestigious regional title, the 15 teams will also be vying for three berths to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Japan having already having qualified as hosts.

Part two of the-AFC.com’s countdown to the draw takes a look at how Australia, China PR, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Vietnam sealed their places in the 2020 Finals.

Besides the prestigious regional title, 15 of the 16 teams will also be vying for three berths to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Japan having already qualified as hosts.

In Part One of our countdown to the draw, the-AFC.com takes a look at how Bahrain, DPR Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan navigated through qualifying last March.

Hosts Thailand, despite having gained an automatic slot, also competed.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) said in a statement posted on its website that the change is to ensure the China PR U-23 squad are well prepared for the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020, which also serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Central Asians topped Group F with a convincing 3-0 victory against India and drawing 0-0 with Tajikistan while the runners-up in the 2018 final Vietnam topped Group K, ahead of Thailand, who had already qualified as host of the competition.

And the 2016 champions Japan were undefeated in Group I where they recorded stunning victories over Macau (8-0), Timor Leste (6-0) and host Myanmar (7-0).

There is extra significance for the AFC U-23 Championships, which will take place from January 8 to 26, 2020, as the top three teams qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July, although should Japan emerge as one of them, the fourth-placed side will advance.

The Spaniard replaces his compatriot Albert Fernandez, and will also remain at the helm of the senior national team, a position he has held since July 2017.

The striker was on hand to convert a Dostonbek Khamdamov corner with his first touch of the game, after a 1-1 draw had forced the game into an additional 30 minutes.

While Uzbekistan’s victory saw them add to the AFC U-16 Championship title they won in 2012, it also brought the curtain down on a remarkable Vietnam campaign, one which will live long in the memory of the Southeast Asian nation’s supporters.

In decidedly wintry conditions at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center, it was Uzbekistan who controlled the early proceedings, and they duly took the lead on eight minutes when a poorly marked Rustamjon Ashurmatov headed home Khamdamov’s outswinging corner.

Uzbekistan continued to press after the breakthrough, as both a Javokhir Sidikov header and Khamdamov’s effort from 20 yards forced Vietnam goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung into smart saves.

Despite struggling to fully impose themselves on the game, Vietnam briefly threatened to restore parity shortly after the half hour mark when Pham Xuan Manh’s excellent cross narrowly eluded the onrushing Phan Vanh Duc and Nguyen Quang Hai.

However, after seeing Azizjon Ganiev fire narrowly over, Vietnam drew level on the stroke of half-time. Nguyen Cong Phuong was brought down on the edge of the area, and from the resulting free-kick Quang Hai superbly curled the ball past the despairing dive of Botirali Ergashev to register his fifth goal of the tournament.

In a match between equals, Uzbekistan opened the scoring in the eighth minute but Nguyen Quang Hai’s 41st minute equaliser pushed the game into extra-time.

Vietnam, however, suffered heartbreak almost at the end as substitute Andrey Sidorov scored the winner for Uzbekistan in the final minute of extra-time to settle the outcome of a match played in wintry conditions.