Identifying the opponents of the Vietnamese women's team at the 2026 Asian Women's Football Championship

On the afternoon of July 29 in Australia, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the draw for the final round of the 2026 Asian Women's Football Championship. The draw placed the Vietnamese women's team in Group C with India, Chinese Taipei and Japan.

Vietnam women's team has identified its opponent at the 2026 Asian Women's Football Championship - Photo: VFF

This is considered a difficult group for the Vietnamese women's team. In theory, the Japanese women's team is too strong and will almost certainly win the group and the first ticket to the next round.

Coach Mai Duc Chung and his team will face fierce competition from India and Chinese Taipei.

The Indian women's team made a strong impression when they defeated Thailand to win a ticket to the final round of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup. This achievement made opponents extremely wary of the Indian women's team, including Vietnam.

2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup draw results - Graphics: AN BINH

The final opponent in Group C of the Vietnamese women's team is Chinese Taipei. This team is considered to be on par with the Vietnamese women's team. They are also the main opponent of coach Mai Duc Chung and his team in the race for second place in the group.

At the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup, 12 teams are divided into 3 groups. At the end of the group stage, the top 2 teams in each group and the 2 best third-placed teams will advance to the quarter-finals.

In this tournament, the goal of the teams is not only the championship, but also a ticket to the 2027 World Cup. According to AFC regulations, the 6 teams with the best results in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup finals in Australia will win tickets to the 2027 Women's World Cup held in Brazil.

This means that the four semi-finalists of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup will qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Meanwhile, the four teams eliminated in the quarter-finals will continue into the intense play-off round, where the four teams will be divided into two pairs, and the winners of these two pairs will qualify for Brazil.

The two teams that lose the play-off round still have a chance to qualify for the 2027 World Cup when the Asian representative participates in the inter-regional play-off. It can be seen that of the 12 teams participating in the 2026 Asian Women's Football Championship, 50% of them will qualify for the 2027 World Cup. This is a fairly high rate, giving every team the right to dream.

NOSTALGIA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xac-dinh-doi-thu-cua-tuyen-nu-viet-nam-o-giai-bong-da-nu-chau-a-2026-20250729154926334.htm