The Olyroos will aim to end Australia's 12-year wait to qualify for an Olympic football tournament on Saturday when they face Uzbekistan in the tournament's third-place playoff in Bangkok.

The winner of that match will book the final Asian spot at the Tokyo Games alongside hosts Japan and AFC U-23 finalists South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

Win or lose, Arnold is confident the challenges and pressures of the past month will prove beneficial to his players as their careers progress.

"It's a great learning experience for all these kids. They've had five games in a short amount of time," Arnold said.

"Tass Mourdoukoutas now has nearly played more games for the national team than he has for the Western Sydney Wanderers first team.

"They're getting the experience of playing games that mean something in a meaningful tournament.

"Every game so far has meant a lot to the kids and giving them those type of experiences is crucial to their careers."

Arnold will also take lessons back from Thailand, having observed closely how Asian nations such as South Korea - who have qualified for every Games since 1992 - prepare their Olympic programs.

"The nations here have been in camp for three or four weeks before we got here," he said.

"This has been great for me to see all this and to see the level of the Asian teams. For Japan to get knocked out in the first round, Iran and that, is pretty unreal.

"You just can't have an Olympic team start their preparation 10 days before an Olympic campaign. It's got to be a two-year campaign like everyone else's is.

"We have to get that right."

Australian Associated Press