U23 Vietnam receives great news at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship final round

29/09/2025 13:26:00 ScoreStream

According to the announcement from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the draw ceremony for the group stage of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship final will take place at 14:00 on October 2, 2025 (Vietnam time) at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Based on the seeding rules, Saudi Arabia, as the host, is automatically placed in the first seed group. The remaining 15 teams are divided into 4 pots according to their performance in the last three final tournaments, with weighting factors of 100% for 2024, 50% for 2022, and 25% for 2020.

Specifically, the seed groups are determined as follows:

Pot 1: Saudi Arabia (host), Uzbekistan (rank 1), Japan (rank 2), Iraq (rank 3).

Pot 2: South Korea (rank 5), Vietnam (rank 6), Australia (rank 7), Qatar (rank 8).

Pot 3: Thailand (rank 9), Jordan (rank 10), UAE (rank 11), Iran (rank 12).

Pot 4: China (rank 13), Syria (rank 14), Kyrgyzstan (rank 15), Lebanon (rank 16).

U18VN-1-1-min — U23 Vietnam is placed in the second seed group (Photo: VFF)

The 16 teams participating in the final will be divided into 4 groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals. The final match is scheduled for January 25, 2026.

Previously, the journey through the qualifiers by coach Kim Sang Sik’s team in Group C left a strong impression. U23 Vietnam won all three matches, defeating Bangladesh 2-0, Singapore 1-0, and Yemen 1-0, securing first place in the group with a perfect 9 points. This marks the sixth consecutive time U23 Vietnam has qualified for the AFC U23 Championship final, reinforcing their stable position in the continental arena and raising high expectations among fans for the upcoming journey in Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, the passionate support from the Phu Tho spectators during all three qualifying matches cannot be overlooked. Viet Tri Stadium was always filled with red flags, creating an energetic atmosphere that inspired and motivated the players to perform confidently and achieve their goals.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship final will take place from January 7 to January 25, 2026, in Saudi Arabia.

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