Doha: With just a day to go until the start of this month’s AFC U23 Championship in Qatar the excitement is starting to build as fans throughout the continent wait to see if their favourites will rule the Asian roost.

This is the first time the event will be used as the qualifier for the Olympic Games. The top three teams from this tournament will qualify for Rio 2016.

Widely regarded as the AFC’s second biggest national team competition after the AFC Asian Cup the competition in Qatar is expected to attract a plethora of attention from sponsors fans and media alike.

The inaugural event – the 2013 AFC U22 Championship – took place in Oman in January 2014 after the original tournament was postponed.

Australia

Australia head to Qatar aiming for a continental double as the Olyroos look to add the U23 trophy to the AFC Asian Cup the senior side won on home soil back in January while a top-three finish will see Aurelio Vidmar’s side become Australia’s sixth representatives at the Olympic Games since the tournament became an Under 23s competition in 1992.

Australia stormed into the 2016 AFC U23 Championship finals after finishing top of Group F scoring a tournament-leading 15 times in their victories over Hong Kong (6-0) Chinese Taipei (4-0) and Myanmar (5-1) with five of their tally coming from former Scotland U-19 international Jamie Maclaren.

Iraq

Inaugural champions Iraq winners of the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship earned the right to defend their title at next year’s finals in Doha by topping Group A under Yahya Alwan who subsequently took charge of the senior team in August following an 11th hour change of mind by former Qatar coach Dzemal Hadziabdic.

Qatar

As tournament hosts Qatar were exempt from the qualifying campaign and will be keen to put on a strong showing on home soil after failing to qualify for the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship.

Quarter-finalists at the 1992 Olympics - when the tournament became an under 23 event - and Asian Games gold medal winners on home soil in 2006 Qatar have a reasonable pedigree at this level and could feature a number of players from the side that won the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship in Myanmar.

Korea Republic

A powerhouse at under-23 level Korea Republic made the most of a comparatively kind qualification draw as Shin Tae-yong’s side cruised to victories over Brunei (5-0) Timor Leste (3-0) and group hosts Indonesia to qualify for Qatar 2016 with a perfect record.

Jordan

A second-half hat-trick from Al Wehdat forward Baha’ Faisal Mohammad saw Jordan draw 3-3 with Kuwait to take top spot in Group B having previously enjoyed comfortable wins over Pakistan (5-0) and Kyrgyzstan (4-0) who held the Kuwaitis to a goalless draw earlier in the campaign to the advantage of Jamal Abu Abed’s side.

Saudi Arabia

Runners-up to Iraq at the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship Saudi Arabia overcame a sluggish start to the 2016 qualifiers to advance as winners of Group C.

One of the strongest teams in their region the Saudis won the 2014 Gulf Cup of Nations U23 Championship with a 5-2 victory over Kuwait in the final in Bahrain to win the tournament for third time in six editions.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates advanced to next year’s continental championship in neighbouring Qatar by topping Group D with a 100% record following victories over Sri Lanka (4-0) Tajikistan (3-0) and Yemen (1-0).

Syria

Syria sealed passage to the AFC U23 Championship for the second time having reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural tournament in Oman in 2014 by winning 2016 qualifying Group E in impressive fashion with successive wins over Bangladesh (4-0) India (4-0) and Uzbekistan (2-1).

DPR Korea

The North Koreans will have a second bite of the cherry after qualifying for next year’s finals by edging Thailand on goal difference to top Group G after playing out a goalless draw with the group hosts following wins over the Philippines (4-0) and Cambodia (4-1).

Japan

Japan’s return to the tournament with qualification to next year’s finals in Qatar was achieved with clinical efficiency as the Samurai Blue - who have participated in every edition of the Olympics since 1996 - defeating Macau (7-0) Vietnam (2-0) and hosts Malaysia (1-0) to top Group I with a 100% record.

China

The Chinese qualified to the 2016 AFC U23 Championship by topping Group J in emphatic fashion after consecutive 5-0 wins over Mongolia and Singapore set up decisive meeting with group hosts Laos which ended with a convincing 3-0 victory for Fu Bo’s side.

Thailand

Having missed out on the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship Thailand will make their tournament debut after qualifying for Qatar 2016 as the first best second-placed team with a runners-up finish in Group G behind DPR Korea. In what was the tightest finish amongst all the qualifying groups.

Iran

Buoyed by the four goals of the prodigiously talented Sardar Azmoun - who scored three times at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup including a sublime strike against Qatar - Iran recorded victories over Nepal (5-0) Palestine (3-0) and Afghanistan (6-0) and went into the Group C decider needing just a point against Saudi Arabia to advance as group winners. A 2-1 defeat however saw the Saudis take top spot although Iran would ultimately still qualify to the finals as the second best second-placed team to mark a second appearance in the tournament after taking part in the inaugural competition.

Vietnam

Vietnam emerged as the third tournament debutants alongside 2016 AFC U23 Championship hosts Qatar and fellow ASEAN side Thailand after their wins over Malaysia (2-1) and Macau (7-0) ultimately proved enough to take the Group I runners-up through as the third best second-placed team.

Yemen

A hard-fought win over Tajikistan followed by a comprehensive hammering of Sri Lanka earned Yemen a return to the AFC U23 Championship finals after qualifying for the inaugural tournament.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan made the 2016 AFC U23 Championship by taking the last berth available as the fifth best second-placed team with inaugural hosts Oman Myanmar Indonesia and Laos all missing out after finishing runners-up in their respective groups.The Peninsula