Vietnam, Indonesia have more chances to attend World Cup

On the evening of December 11, the International Football Federation (FIFA) confirmed that Saudi Arabia won the right to host the 2034 World Cup. Asian football directly benefits from this decision. In particular, Southeast Asian teams that have reached the final stage of the World Cup qualifiers such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia also have more hope of competing.

Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the World Cup means Asia has an extra spot in the finals. Under the current format, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has eight direct spots and one play-off spot for the biggest football festival on the planet.

The host team of the finals only participates in the second qualifying round (to determine the Asian Cup spot). If Saudi Arabia qualifies for the third qualifying round, they will not continue playing and their spot will be given to another team. In addition, the team not participating in the final qualifying round means that the other teams will have one less strong opponent.

The Indonesian team has many opportunities to participate in the 2034 World Cup.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are the three teams that have advanced the furthest in the World Cup qualifiers and have the goal of participating in the world's biggest tournament. Of these, Indonesia is the team with the best performance to date.

The strong naturalization policy has turned the Indonesian team into the country with the greatest chance of participating in the 2034 World Cup. Right in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, the Indonesian team is ranked 3rd in Group C, equal in points with other teams such as Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. If they are lucky and play explosively, coach Shin Tae-yong and his team can make a surprise.

At present, Vietnamese and Thai football do not have as many naturalized players as Indonesia. Thailand mainly exploits the Thai players living in Europe. However, only a few of them meet the professional requirements of the national team. In fact, no one has shown that they are as good as "domestic" stars like Chananthip or Theerathon Bunmathan.

The Vietnamese team now also has Nguyen Xuan Son, the first naturalized player to join the team after 15 years. However, the VFF has difficulty in calling for truly quality overseas Vietnamese players. Those who are ready to return are not superior to their domestic counterparts. Some stars choose to play in European and African countries. The VFF cannot have strong financial resources like Indonesia to "invite" overseas Vietnamese players.

Mai Phuong

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/viet-nam-indonesia-them-co-hoi-du-world-cup-ar913069.html