Vietnam’s U23 team has been placed in Pot 1 for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, joining the continent’s elite based on their accumulated performance over the last three tournaments.

The official group draw will take place at 2:00 PM (Vietnam time) on May 29 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers will feature 44 national U23 teams divided into 11 groups. The competition will follow a single round-robin format at centralized venues from September 1 to September 9, 2025. Eleven group winners and the four best second-placed teams will advance to the final tournament in Saudi Arabia in 2026. Saudi Arabia automatically qualifies as the host nation.

Vietnam's U23 team gained a significant advantage by reaching the quarterfinals in the most recent edition of the tournament. This achievement secured their spot in Pot 1, alongside some of Asia’s strongest football nations. In the seeding rankings used for the draw, Vietnam ranked fifth in Asia, following Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq, and South Korea.

The draw will allocate teams into four seeding pots based on an AFC-approved points system. Separately, the 11 countries hosting group-stage matches will be placed in a designated “Hosts Pot” and drawn first to ensure that each host is placed in a different group. Host nations will then be assigned to positions within their respective groups according to their seeding.

In addition to being placed in Pot 1, Vietnam will also enjoy home-field advantage as one of the host nations. This provides a further boost for head coach Kim Sang Sik and his squad as they aim to qualify for the continental finals.

Host countries for the qualifiers include Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Tajikistan, Thailand, the UAE, and Vietnam.

Pot allocations based on rankings:

Pot 1: Uzbekistan, Japan, Iraq, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, Qatar, Thailand, Jordan, Tajikistan, UAE
Pot 2: Indonesia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkmenistan, Malaysia, China, Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Cambodia
Pot 3: Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, Kyrgyzstan, India, Lebanon, Laos, Timor Leste, Chinese Taipei, Philippines, Hong Kong (China)
Pot 4: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Pakistan, Macau, Nepal, Brunei, Bhutan, Northern Mariana Islands

Dai Nam