U.23 Vietnam is unexpectedly ranked in the number 1 seed group in the Asian tournament, why?

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has officially announced the plan to organize the draw ceremony for the qualifying round of the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship. Accordingly, the ceremony will take place at 2:00 p.m. (Vietnam time) on May 29, at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Why was U.23 Vietnam chosen?

The qualifying round of the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship will feature 44 teams, divided into 11 groups (4 teams each), competing in a round-robin format at a centralized location from September 1 to 9. The group winners (11 teams) and the four best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals, to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2026. The host team of the finals, Saudi Arabia U-23, will be given a special entry.

Notably, the Vietnam U.23 team is placed in the No. 1 seed group - the seed group for the 11 teams with the best cumulative results in the last 3 U.23 Asian tournaments (2020, 2022, 2024). Being in the top seed group reflects the fairly stable performance of Vietnamese youth football over the past many years, most recently reaching the quarterfinals at the 2024 tournament.

The Vietnam U.23 team reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 AFC U.23 Championship and stopped after losing to Iraq U.23 with a score of 0-1.

PHOTO: VFF

Accordingly, on the rankings serving the seeding and drawing of the 2026 AFC U.23 qualifiers, the Vietnam U.23 team ranked 5th in the continent, after Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq and South Korea.

The draw will be conducted in the following way: teams are divided into four seeding pots based on the points system approved by the AFC. In addition, the 11 host nations are placed in a separate pot (hosts pot) and drawn in advance to ensure that each host is in a different pot. The host teams will be allocated to the positions in the group corresponding to their seeding pot.

The 11 countries hosting the qualifying round of the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship include: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Tajikistan, Thailand, UAE and Vietnam.

List of 4 seed groups (in order of ranking)

Group 1: Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, Qatar, Thailand, Jordan, Tajikistan, UAE

Group 2: Indonesia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkmenistan, Malaysia, China, Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Cambodia

Group 3: Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, Kyrgyzstan, India, Lebanon, Laos, Timor Leste, Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong

Group 4: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Pakistan, Macau, Nepal, Brunei, Bhutan, Northern Mariana Islands

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-duoc-xep-nhom-hat-giong-so-1-o-giai-dau-chau-a-185250505094052825.htm