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U.S., Mexico face tough Olympic qualifying road for Tokyo 2020

The United States and Mexico face a tough road to Tokyo as both sides, along with Costa Rica, were drawn into the same group in the 2020 CONCACAF men's Olympic qualifying tournament.

The three sides -- traditionally the strongest in the North American and Caribbean region -- will be joined by the Dominican Republic in Group A.

Group B will consist of Honduras, Canada, El Salvador and Haiti. The top two from each group move on to the knockout round, with the champion and runner-up booking tickets to Tokyo.

Mexico, which won gold at the 2012 Olympics in London, will host the qualifying tournament in Guadalajara between March 20 and April 1.

The U.S. is hoping to qualify for the first time since 2008 after having missed out on the past two editions.

Olympic sides consist of countries' under-23 teams, but they can call up to three overage players should they reach Tokyo, where the tournament runs July 22-Aug. 8.

The squads for Guadalajara will mainly rely on MLS and Liga MX players, as it would be unlikely that European-based stars such as Chelsea's Christian Pulisic or Ajax's Edson Alvarez would leave in the midst of their club campaigns.

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