Asian Cup C2 draw, two Vietnamese representatives in difficult group

(Dan Tri) - The draw for the group stage of the AFC Champions League 2 this afternoon (August 15) put two Vietnamese teams, Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) and Nam Dinh, in relatively difficult groups.

Specifically, the reigning V-League champion Nam Dinh fell into group F with the teams Gamba Osaka (Japan), Ratchaburi FC (Thailand) and Eastern (Hong Kong, China).

Meanwhile, the reigning National Cup champion CAHN Club is in Group E with Beijing Guoan (China), Macarthur FC (Australia) and Taipo FC (Hong Kong, China).

CAHN Club is in Group E with representatives from Hong Kong (China), Australia and China (Photo: CAHN Club).

Among CAHN FC's opponents in Group E, in theory, Macarthur FC is rated the highest, because they come from the top football country in Asia, Australia. Beijing Guoan and Taipo FC are unknowns.

Similarly, in Nam Dinh's Group F, Gamba Osaka (Japan) is rated the highest. Thailand's Ratchaburi FC is probably not weak, while Hong Kong's Eastern Club is an unknown.

The 2025-2026 AFC Cup has a total of 8 groups, of which 4 groups A, B, C, D are groups of teams from the West Asia region. Groups E, F, G and H will be groups of teams from the East Asia region.

The Eastern region groups of the Asian Cup C2 (Photo: ASEAN Football).

The group stage of the AFC Cup Winners' Cup will begin on September 16 and last until December 11 this year. The group stage matches will be played in a double round-robin format. The top two teams in each group will advance to the round of 16. From the round of 16, matches will be played in a knockout format over two legs, home and away.

The Round of 16 and other knockout matches will take place from 10 February 2026. Only in the final will teams from the East and West meet. The final will be a single-leg match, played on neutral ground. The final will be played on 16 May 2026.

The most famous team in the 2025-2026 AFC Cup Winners' Cup is Al Nassr Club (Saudi Arabia). This team currently owns superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal). In addition, the Al Nassr squad also has a number of other faces who have reached world-class level, including Joao Felix (Portugal), Sadio Mane (Senegal) and Marcelo Brozovic (Croatia).

If CAHN or Nam Dinh Club makes it to the final, Quang Hai, Nguyen Filip, Viet Anh (CAHN Club), Tuan Anh, Xuan Son, Van Vi (Nam Dinh) can face Ronaldo of Al Nassr.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/boc-tham-cup-c2-chau-a-hai-dai-dien-viet-nam-vao-bang-dau-kho-20250815151318178.htm