Vietnam faces Thailand at Asian Futsal Championship

The Vietnamese futsal team will meet the reigning runner-up Thailand in the group stage of the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship finals in Indonesia.

The Vietnamese futsal team has only beaten Thailand once at the 2024 Southeast Asian Futsal Championship - Photo: CHANGSUEK

On the afternoon of November 5, the draw ceremony for the final round of the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship took place in Jakarta (Indonesia) - the host country of the tournament.

As a result, the Vietnamese futsal team (ranked 26th in the world ) is in group B with the current runner-up Thailand (ranked 11th), Kuwait (ranked 43rd) and Lebanon (ranked 54th).

This is a group that brings together familiar opponents to the Vietnamese team. Although this group is considered challenging, it also opens up opportunities for coach Diego Giustozzi and his team in the competition for a ticket to the next round.

Apart from Thailand, where the Vietnamese futsal team has only won once and lost nine times, Kuwait and Lebanon are not highly rated. The Vietnamese futsal team just beat Lebanon 4-0 in the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship qualifiers in China in September, thereby leading with three wins in a row.

As for Kuwait, the Vietnamese futsal team just won 3-2 and 3-1 in their training trip here before participating in the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship qualifiers.

The draw put the Vietnamese futsal team in the same group with Thailand - Photo: AFC

The 2026 Asian Futsal Championship will take place from January 27 to February 7, 2026 in Jakarta. The tournament will bring together the 16 strongest teams in the continent, divided into 4 groups, playing a round-robin to select the top two teams in each group to enter the quarter-finals.

At the Asian futsal arena, the Vietnamese futsal team made a big splash when they reached the semi-finals in 2016. And through that, for the first time in history, they won a ticket to the 2016 Futsal World Cup in Colombia.

With its current position and the new breeze coming from excellent young factors in recent years, the Vietnamese futsal team continues to receive many expectations to create a new mark at the continental futsal playground in 2026.

The Vietnamese futsal team with 20 players in the best form will gather again on November 10 in Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games.

After the 33rd SEA Games, coach Diego Giustozzi and his team will continue to focus on the final round of the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship.

It is expected that during this preparation period, the team will have an international friendly match with a guest, a top Asian futsal team, or go to Indonesia a week early to train and compete before officially entering the competition.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/viet-nam-cham-tran-thai-lan-o-giai-futsal-chau-a-20251105153659582.htm