The Olyroos will be making their fourth appearance in the AFC U-23 Championship Finals after securing their spots in Thailand 2020 as one of the four best second-placed teams in the Qualifiers last March.

Thailand 2020 also serves as qualification to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games, where three other teams will join Japan.

Australia will take on New Zealand at the WIN Stadium in Wollongong on September 6, before playing the second fixture at the Campbelltown Stadium three days later as both nations seek to advance their preparations for forthcoming Tokyo 2020 qualification tournaments.

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 match was broadcast live on three major channels in Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City Television’s HTV-9 as well as Vietnam Television’s VTV-2 and VTV-6.

According to data released by CSM Media Research and KantarMedia Vietnam, over 5.3 million people – almost half of the entire measurable TV population of 11.4 million in Vietnam – watched the final, making the AFC U23 Championship one of the country’s most-watched television programmes in recent years. The final achieved a staggering 77% share of viewing in Vietnam, which means three out of four Vietnamese watching television that afternoon were tuned in to the match.

Vietnam’s remarkable performance also registered a powerful viral effect on social media. The AFC’s official Facebook page (theAFCdotcom) earned close to 1.5 million engagements in Vietnam alone; and by the final whistle, the page had secured a nine-fold increase of 165,079 followers from Vietnam, making the country the second biggest fan group on the channel.

Throughout the tournament, AFC’s Facebook page achieved an impressive reach of over 11 million and close to 17 million video views in Vietnam. This translated to over 150,000 hours Vietnamese fans spent watching the videos. On AFC’s YouTube channel, the response was equally overwhelming, with more than four million Vietnamese fans clocking close to 6.5 million minutes of viewing time.

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said, “The solid ratings on Vietnamese television and social media underscore the enduring appeal of football in this region, and demonstrate the power of engaging local communities with meaningful experiences and content that truly matter to them. Watching fans pour out into the streets to welcome their national heroes, packing public viewing spaces to capacity, and decorating the stadium with their country’s colours were proud moments for all of us.

“As we celebrate Uzbekistan’s historical victory at the AFC U23 Championship, we are equally encouraged by Vietnam’s performance, and applaud the phenomenal strides both nations have made to reach the final of the most prestigious platform for Asia’s future stars to shine.”

“Special praise must also go to the Vietnam Football Federation for their continued progress and proactive efforts in developing the game at all levels, which was recognised at the AFC Annual Awards Night in Bangkok last year when they earned the AFC Developing Member Associations of the Year award.”

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.

There were only two minutes of extra time left on the clock and whatever extra the referee would award in stoppage time but Sidorov was ready to play his part.

It looked likely that penalties would be needed to decide the outcome and with Sidorov having a fresh pair of legs in a final played in wintry conditions, he would surely have been tasked with taking a spot-kick.

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.

The talented midfielder was an ever-present for Uzbekistan throughout the tournament, with his display in the final undoubtedly one of his best in China. 

However, despite his glowing reviews and personal accolade, Xamrobekov was quick to dedicate his own award and the U23 title success to those who believed in both himself and his teammates the most.

“All the trophies that we have won today, they are for everyone, for all the delegation, all the staff, and for all those people who believed in us,” explained Uzbekistan’s number seven.

“After we lost the opening match (against Qatar), not many people thought we would succeed, but those closest to us definitely did. 

"The success we had is not only mine, or the head coach’s, or the team’s, it is for everyone.”