Vietnam encounters unbelievable coincidence in U23 Asian qualifiers

On the afternoon of May 29, the draw for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round took place. Vietnam's results in the group were quite comfortable.

Coach Kim Sang Sik of the Vietnam U23 team - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI

There are a total of 11 groups in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round, and Vietnam is in Group C with opponents Singapore, Yemen and Bangladesh.

It can be said that this is almost a coincidence with the qualifying round of the most recent U23 Asian Cup. Because that year, Vietnam was also in Group C and the opponents were Singapore, Yemen and Guam.

After 2 years, the opponent of U23 Vietnam has only changed from Guam to Bangladesh - both are considered to have very weak football teams.

In the qualifying round 2 years ago, U23 Vietnam did not have to work hard to get a ticket. They won Guam 6-0, beat Yemen 1-0 and completed the task with a 2-2 draw against Singapore in the final match of the group stage.

After 2 years, the barriers for Mr. Kim Sang Sik and his team have hardly changed significantly. It is not easy to defeat Yemen or Singapore, but in general, these are football teams that are inferior to Vietnam.

The big advantage for U23 Vietnam this time is playing host to the matches of Group C in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers.

Compared to Vietnam, Indonesia has a more difficult group with South Korea, Macau and Laos. Thailand and Malaysia clash in Group F, along with Lebanon and Mongolia.

U23 Asian qualifier draw results - Photo: SCREENSHOT

The 11 group winners will officially qualify for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship with the host team. The remaining 4 tickets are for the second-placed teams with good results.

This is also the last time the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) will organize the U23 Championship in a non-Olympic year. From 2028, the AFC U23 Championship will take place every 4 years instead of every 2 years, and always in the same year as the Olympics.

The U23 Asian finals will also have the essence of the Asian Olympic qualifiers.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers will feature 44 teams divided into 11 groups. The teams will compete in a round robin in each group to select the 11 group winners and 4 second-place teams with the best results in each group to compete in the final round.

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

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/viet-nam-gap-trung-hop-kho-tin-o-vong-loai-u23-chau-a-20250529153109916.htm