Vietnam becomes one of the venues for the 2026 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers

AFC announced that Vietnam will become one of the host countries of the 2026 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers. The decision was made at the AFC Competition Committee meeting on May 30. Vietnam Football Association Chairman Chen Guojun presided over the meeting as a member of the Standing Committee.

In the competition for the quota of the U23 Asian Cup final stage, Vietnam National Olympics has some favorable conditions: they are the No. 1 seed in the group and are also one of the hosts of the qualifiers. There are 44 teams participating in the 2026 U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, divided into 11 groups, with 4 teams in each group. The competition will be held from September 1 to September 9, 2025, and will adopt a round-robin competition system. The top spot in each group and the second place in the four best-achieved groups, plus the host Saudi Arabia, will advance to the U23 Asian Cup.

In addition to Vietnam, 10 other countries have also obtained the right to host the qualifiers, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Tajikistan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The draw for the

group stage will be held at the AFC headquarters on May 29. As the last eight in the last tournament, Vietnam's National Olympic Team will become the seed teams of each group, along with Japan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Indonesia, South Korea, Qatar, China, Tajikistan and Kuwait.

In order to prepare for this qualifier, Vietnam U22 will also participate in some competitions to warm up while training. In March, they participated in the Yancheng International Football Invitational with South Korea U22, Uzbekistan U22 and China U22, and took the opportunity to test their strength.