U23 Vietnam reunites with Yemen, Singapore in 2026 Asian qualifiers

TPO - The Vietnam U23 team fell into Group C, which is considered quite "easy" with Yemen, Singapore and Bangladesh at the draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round.

On the afternoon of May 29, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the draw for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers. As a result, U23 Vietnam fell into Group C with Yemen, Singapore and Bangladesh - familiar opponents in the regional arena.

Notably, Yemen and Singapore faced U23 Vietnam in the 2024 U23 Asian qualifiers. At that time, coach Philippe Troussier and his team won the group with 7 points, after a 6-0 victory over Guam, defeating Yemen 1-0 and drawing Singapore 2-2.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers have the participation of 44 teams and are divided into 11 groups, competing in a round-robin in each group to select the 11 group winners and 4 second-place teams with good results in the groups to compete in the final round.

The qualifying matches will take place from 1 September to 9 September 2025 in the host countries. The final tournament will be held in January 2026 in Saudi Arabia.

According to the latest AFC rankings, U23 Vietnam is currently ranked 5th in Asia – just behind Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq and South Korea. This is the result of the impressive journey of Vietnamese youth football with the runner-up position in 2018 and two quarter-final appearances in 2022 and 2024.

Currently, U23 Vietnam is gathering with the national team during the FIFA Days in June 2025, actively practicing tactics and perfecting the squad towards the big goals ahead.

In 2025, besides the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers, U23 Vietnam will also participate in two other important tournaments: the Southeast Asian U23 Championship and the 33rd SEA Games.

Trong Dat

Source: https://tienphong.vn/u23-viet-nam-tai-ngo-yemen-singapore-tai-vong-loai-chau-a-2026-post1746635.tpo