Vietnam women's team in the same group with Guam, UAE and Maldives in the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers

Based on the results of the draw for the 2026 Asian Women's Football Championship qualifying round just announced by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Vietnamese women's team is in a group with opponents Guam, UAE and Maldives.

The Vietnamese women's team is seeded in Group 1 along with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Iran, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Myanmar. Other Southeast Asian representatives, Indonesia and Malaysia, are in Group 2, while Laos and Cambodia are in Group 3, while Singapore and Timor Leste are in Group 4. Vietnam is also the host country, hosting Group E with a home stadium scheduled for Viet Tri (Phu Tho) next June.

Evaluating the draw results, Head Coach of the National Women's Team Mai Duc Chung said: "Among the 3 teams in the same group, the Vietnamese women's team has only ever played against Maldives in the 2022 Asian Women's Qualifiers. Although the Vietnamese women's team won that match, recently, countries in the continent have been investing and changing strongly, so we cannot be subjective."

"For UAE women's football, on March 22, Ho Chi Minh City women's club welcomed Abu Dhabi Country Club from the UAE. Through that match, it can be seen that UAE women's football has many physical advantages with naturalized players. The Guam team is a new opponent for Vietnam women's football, but through preliminary information, this is also an opponent with physical strength," said coach Mai Duc Chung.

In the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying round, 34 teams are divided into 8 groups (2 groups of 5 teams and 6 groups of 4 teams). The teams compete in a round-robin format, selecting the top 8 teams in each group to qualify for the final round, along with 4 teams that have already secured a spot: Australia (host of the final round) and 3 teams with the highest achievements from the 2022 season including China, Japan and Korea.

The top six teams at the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup Finals will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

In preparation for the 2026 Asian Cup Women's Qualifiers, the Vietnamese women's team is expected to gather next May. The coaching staff is planning and preparing to have the most thorough training session for the women's team.

“We will select the best team through the ongoing U19 women's tournament and the National Women's Cup; add young players to the training camp along with experienced players, thereby preparing the best squad for this qualifying round as well as the 33rd SEA Games at the end of this year,” said coach Mai Duc Chung.