U23 Vietnam is in the number 1 seed group in the Asian qualifiers...

The Vietnam U23 team reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship and stopped after losing to Iraq U23 with a score of 0-1. (Source: VFF)

According to information from VFF, the Vietnam U23 team ranked 5th in Asia (after Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq and South Korea) and was placed in the number 1 seed group - the group for 11 teams with the best cumulative achievements in the three most recent U23 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 quarter-finals at the 2024 tournament.

In addition, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has officially announced the plan to organize the draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers. Specifically, the ceremony will take place at 2:00 p.m. (Vietnam time) on May 29, 2025 at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The qualifying round of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship brings together 44 national U23 teams, divided into 11 groups, competing in a round-robin format at a centralized location from September 1-9.

The 11 group winners and the four best runners-up will advance to the Finals, to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2026. The host team of the Finals will receive a bye-bye to the qualifiers.

The draw mechanism is conducted according to the following principle: Teams are divided into 4 seed groups based on the scoring system approved by the Asian Football Confederation.

In addition, the 11 host nations are placed in a separate pot (Hosts Pot) and are drawn in advance to ensure that each host is placed in a different pot. The host teams will be allocated positions in the group, corresponding to their seeding.

The list of 11 countries hosting the tournament includes: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Tajikistan, Thailand, UAE and Vietnam.

The countries in the top seed group before the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers include: Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, Qatar, Thailand, Jordan, Tajikistan and UAE./.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/u23-viet-nam-thuoc-nhom-hat-giong-so-1-tai-vong-loai-giai-chau-a-2026-251872.html