Southeast Asian media outlets are suggesting a scenario where both Vietnam and Thailand's U23 teams reach the quarterfinals.

The ASEAN Football website, which specializes in Southeast Asian football, shared: “After the second round of matches in Group B, Thailand U23 kept their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals alive with a draw against Iraq U23. This result ensures Thailand U23 remains on the path to the entire competition.”

Vietnam U23 and Thailand U23 could both advance to the quarterfinals (Photo: Manh Quan).

“The mission for the Thai U23 team in their final match is clear: Defeat China U23 to secure a place in the knockout round. Southeast Asian football is focused on this clash. Will Thailand U23 be able to keep their dream of continuing their winning streak at the U23 Asian Championship alive?”, ASEAN Football added.

Currently, after two matches, the Thailand U23 team has only one point, placing them at the bottom of Group D, behind China U23 (4 points), Australia U23 (3 points), and Iraq U23 (2 points).

However, if the Thai youth team defeats China U23 in the match taking place at 6:30 PM on January 14th (Vietnam time), they will rank above China U23 and qualify for the quarterfinals, regardless of the other results in the group.

Thai newspaper Thairath excitedly wrote: "Thailand U23 team miraculously bounced back from the brink of defeat thanks to a draw with Iraq U23. Coach Thawatchai's team keeps their hopes of advancing alive."

Southeast Asian media outlets present a scenario where Vietnam and Thailand U23 teams both reach the quarterfinals - 2

Thailand U23 (in blue) had a great match against Iraq U23 last night (Photo: FAT).

"Although the recent draw against U23 Iraq only gave U23 Thailand their first point in this year's U23 Asian Championship finals, the important thing is that this point helps U23 Thailand maintain their chance to qualify for the quarterfinals before playing against U23 China on January 14th," Thairath continued to analyze.

Assuming U23 Thailand defeats U23 China on January 14th, and U23 Vietnam achieves a favorable result in their match against U23 Saudi Arabia at 11:30 PM tonight, Southeast Asian football will maintain 100% of its representatives in the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. This detail reflects the strong development of youth football in the region.

Previously, ASEAN Football wrote about the Vietnam U23 team: "Coach Kim Sang Sik's team is still having a perfect journey at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. The Vietnam U23 team has two wins in two consecutive matches."

"The Vietnam U23 team needs to fulfill the following condition against the host team, Saudi Arabia U23: avoid losing by a margin of 3 goals or more, thereby securing a place in the quarter-finals," reads the same message on the ASEAN Football website.

Southeast Asian media outlets present a scenario where Vietnam and Thailand U23 teams both reach the quarterfinals - 3