U23 Vietnam was lucky to fall into an easy group in the Asian qualifiers.

(Dan Tri) - At the draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round that took place early this afternoon (May 29), the Vietnam U23 team fell into Group C, along with Yemen, Singapore and Bangladesh.

The Vietnam U23 team is also the host of Group C, playing at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ). The 2026 Asian U23 qualifying round will take place from September 1 to September 9 this year.

U23 Vietnam (white shirt) fell into an easy group in the U23 Asia qualifying round (Photo: VFF).

As the first seed of the qualifying round, the Vietnam U23 team avoided most of the strongest opponents in the Asian U23 age group, including Japan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Iraq, Qatar, and UAE.

The draw results put coach Kim Sang Sik's team (Korean) in a fairly easy group, with the presence of Singapore, Bangladesh and Yemen.

Among these, only the West Asian team Yemen is an unknown, while opponents Singapore and Bangladesh are not highly rated.

In addition to avoiding the strongest teams in Asia, the Vietnam U23 team also avoided the strongest opponents in Southeast Asia, notably Thailand and Indonesia.

Coach Kim Sang Sik is expected to have an easy qualifying campaign (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

Thailand is in Group F of the qualifying round, along with Malaysia, Lebanon and Mongolia. Indonesia is in Group J, alongside South Korea, Laos and Macau (China).

As for the other teams in Southeast Asia, Myanmar is in Group B with defending champions Japan, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Timor Leste is in Group D with Australia, China and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Cambodia is in Group G, alongside Iraq, Oman and Pakistan. Brunei is in Group H, alongside Qatar, Bahrain and India. The Philippines is in Group K, alongside Tajikistan, Syria and Nepal.

According to the regulations of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, the 11 group winners, along with the 4 best second-placed teams, will advance to the finals. The host team of the finals, Saudi Arabia, will automatically qualify for the first place. The finals will take place early next year.

Results of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round (Photo: AFC).

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/u23-viet-nam-may-man-roi-vao-bang-dau-nhe-ky-tai-vong-loai-giai-chau-a-20250529150512874.htm