Vietnam futsal team in the same group with China

Vietnam futsal team is in the same group with China, Hong Kong and Lebanon in the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship qualifiers.

The draw put the Vietnamese futsal team in group E - Photo: VFF

On the afternoon of June 26, the draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC Futsal Championship qualifying round took place in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). As a result, the Vietnamese futsal team was placed in Group E with Lebanon, host China and Hong Kong.

Lebanon and China are considered two direct competitors to coach Diego Giustozzi and his team.

In the most recent confrontation, the Vietnamese futsal team faced Lebanon in the play-off round for a ticket to the 2021 Futsal World Cup. After two draws of 0-0 and 1-1, the Vietnamese team then won the right to continue thanks to the away goals rule.

Meanwhile, at the 2024 Asian Futsal Championship finals, the Vietnamese team defeated China 1-0 in the group stage.

Vietnam futsal team in friendly match against Saudi Arabia in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NK

The 2026 Asian Futsal Championship qualifiers will take place from September 20 to 24. This is a key tournament for the Vietnamese futsal team in 2025, alongside the SEA Games which will take place in December in Thailand.

According to plan, to prepare for the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship qualifiers, the Vietnamese futsal team will gather after the 2025 National Futsal Cup ends next August.

The 2026 AFC Futsal Championship Qualifiers will feature 31 teams, divided into 8 groups. There will be 7 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams. The teams will compete in a round-robin format, with points awarded to the countries hosting the groups.

The top eight teams in each group and the seven best runners-up will qualify for the finals in Indonesia in January 2026. As hosts, Indonesia will qualify directly for the finals and will not have to participate in the qualifying round.

AFC seeding for the first time

This is the first time the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has seeded teams for the 2026 AFC Futsal Championship qualifiers, based on the latest FIFA futsal rankings.

Vietnam's futsal team is ranked 5th in Asia and 31st in the world , so it is placed in the number 1 seed group. Teams in the same group with Vietnam include Iran, Thailand, Japan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq.

Being selected as the number 1 seed is a recognition of the stable performance of the Vietnamese futsal team in recent years.

From 2014 to present, the Vietnamese futsal team has passed the group stage 5 times in a row at the Asian futsal tournaments, notably reaching the top 4 in 2016.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-futsal-viet-nam-chung-bang-voi-trung-quoc-20250626153925445.htm