After two matches in the group stage of the 2025 AFC Women's Futsal Championship, Vietnam and Iran both earned 6 absolute points. However, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang's team temporarily topped Group B thanks to a better goal difference (+5 compared to +3).

The final match between the two teams on May 11 will be decisive for the top spot in the group. However, it is worth noting that the second place in the group could bring a bigger advantage to Vietnam in the quarter-finals.

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Vietnam women's futsal team early won ticket to quarterfinals - Photo: VFF

According to the tournament format, 12 teams are divided into 3 groups, each group has 4 teams. After the group stage, 8 teams enter the quarterfinals, including 6 teams from each group and 2 teams from 3rd place with the best results. Vietnam is in the second seed group, falling into group B with Iran (ranked 9th in the world ), Philippines and Hong Kong (China) - teams that are rated lower.

It was no surprise that Vietnam and Iran easily overcame two weak opponents to quickly secure tickets to the quarter-finals. However, the notable thing is the division of the knockout round brackets. Host China (ranked 24) was placed in Group 1, along with Thailand (ranked 5) and Iran, which caused Japan (ranked 10) to fall into Group 2 and eventually be in the same group with Thailand in Group C - turning this group into the "group of death".

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Group B situation after two matches

According to the branching diagram, the first team in Group B will face the second team in Group C, most likely one of the two giants Thailand or Japan. This is clearly a big challenge for Vietnam if they want to go far.

On the contrary, if Vietnam finishes second in Group B, they will face the second-placed team in Group A - where opponents such as Chinese Taipei (ranked 18th), Uzbekistan (ranked 22nd), China (ranked 24th) and Australia (ranked 59th) are all rated lower than Vietnam. Thus, the path to the semi-finals, and further, the goal of winning a ticket to the World Cup, will be much easier.

In that context, Iran will likely also calculate to avoid the top spot. If this happens, the match between Vietnam and Iran in the final round will not only be a competition for points, but also a tactical match full of calculations.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dt-futsal-nu-viet-nam-kho-di-world-cup-hon-du-nhat-bang-2399721.html