Vietnam team falls into a difficult group at Asian Cup 2023

At 6:00 p.m. on May 11 (Vietnam time), the draw for the 2023 Asian Cup finals took place in Qatar. The 24 participating teams were divided into four seed groups, based on their rankings on the FIFA rankings. Specifically, the Vietnamese team is in group 3 with Bahrain, Syria, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon. Group 1 includes Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia; group 2 includes Iraq, UAE, Oman, Uzbekistan, China and Jordan; group 4 includes India, Tajikistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong (China) and Indonesia.

Vietnam team falls into a difficult group

The draw of luck has put Vietnam in the same group with Japan (group 1), Iraq (group 2) and Indonesia (group 3). The strongest opponent in this group that Vietnam has to face is Japan. The most recent meeting between the two teams was also the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. At that time, the surprising thing was that Vietnam drew 1-1 right on Japan's field. That was also the only draw that Vietnam had, in 5 matches against Japan (lost 4).

As for Iraq, the last time Vietnam met this team was in the group stage of the 2019 Asian Cup. At that time, under the leadership of predecessor Park Hang-seo, Vietnam only lost 2-3. In 4 official meetings, Vietnam drew 1 and lost 3 times. Of which, Indonesia is the team that has met Vietnam many times at the AFF Cup. The last time the two teams met was also in this tournament, in the semi-finals held earlier this year. At that time, Vietnam won 2-0 after 2 matches to reach the final.

Groups at the 2023 Asian Cup Finals

The 2023 Asian Cup will be held in Qatar - the new host country replacing China, which withdrew from hosting. The tournament has been postponed from this summer to early 2024, and is scheduled to start from January 12 to February 10, 2024. Host country Qatar will use the Al Janoub, Al Bayt, Ahmed Bin Ali, Al Thumama, Education City and Khalifa International stadiums built for the 2022 World Cup for matches. In addition, the smaller Jassim bin Hamad and Abdullah bin Khalifa stadiums will also be put into service for the 2023 Asian Cup.

At the 2023 Asian Cup, each team will be allowed to make 5 substitutions per match. In addition, VAR technology will be applied. According to the format, the 2 teams finishing first and second in each group, along with the 4 third-placed teams with the best results, will qualify for the knockout round of the 2023 Asian Cup.

VINH HAI

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