Difficult format
Due to the early stop in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Vietnamese team will have to participate in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers with 23 other opponents. Compared to the 2019 or 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers, the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will be much more fierce for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team.
In the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, 24 teams are divided into 6 groups of 4 teams each, playing in a double round-robin format. The top 6 teams in these 6 groups will qualify for the Asian Cup finals. The second-placed teams will not qualify for the Asian Cup finals as in previous qualifiers.
Vietnam team will compete in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in March 2025.
Why did the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers suddenly cut the number of places to continue? It was due to changes in the World Cup qualifiers format.
In the World Cup qualifiers, teams that participate in the third qualifying round will automatically have a place in the Asian Cup. In previous World Cup third qualifying rounds, only 10 teams competed, equivalent to 10 direct places to the Asian Cup. Thus, up to 14 places in the Asian Cup finals are divided among the teams that participated in the qualifying round of this tournament.
However, in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, 18 teams have entered the third qualifying round, meaning that 18 tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup finals have been taken. There are only 6 spots left for the 24 qualifying teams to compete for.
The Vietnamese team will play 6 matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers with the goal of winning the top spot in the group. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team cannot make any mistakes if they want to continue.
Players must not make mistakes.
Advantages
Despite the harsh format, the Vietnamese team still has a certain advantage ahead of the Asian Cup qualifiers.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will divide the groups based on seeding. The 24 teams will be divided into four seeding pots of six teams each based on their FIFA rankings.
The Vietnamese team is currently ranked 20th in Asia. Among the teams participating in the Asian Cup qualifiers, Kim Sang-sik's team is only behind Syria, Thailand and Tajikistan, while ranking above many formidable teams such as Lebanon, India and Malaysia.
Almost certainly, the Vietnamese team will be in the number 1 seed group with Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Lebanon and India. Thanks to that, Nguyen Quang Hai and his teammates will avoid meeting these formidable opponents in their group.
Thailand (blue shirt) will be in the same seed group as Vietnam.
The remaining teams participating in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Nepal, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Singapore are all opponents that the Vietnamese team is capable of defeating, if they play at their best.
The 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will take place from March 2025, which is 9 months from now. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his colleagues still have a long time to prepare. Because the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will take place after the 2024 AFF Cup, Mr. Kim and his team can fully prepare for the Southeast Asian tournament, then continue to refine their squad and build a playing style for the Asian tournament.
To prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) will build a preparation roadmap right after the draw results. VFF will choose for the Vietnamese team "green troops" of the right level, with a style similar to the opponents they will meet in the Asian Cup qualifiers to test the playing style, get used to the pace and rhythm of the match.
Coach Kim Sang-sik's mission is to bring the Vietnamese team through the qualifying round, to have a third consecutive presence at the Asian Cup.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vong-loai-asian-cup-day-hiem-hoa-nhung-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-co-the-yen-tam-boi-185240624023855355.htm
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