The Vietnamese national futsal team. Photo VFF

HCM CITY — The Vietnamese national futsal team will play Hungary in a friendly match on September 17 at Lãnh Bình Thăng Gymnasium in HCM City.

The game will be a warm up for Việt Nam ahead of the qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Futsal Asian Cup 2024.

Hungary once competed at Futsal World Cup in 1989 and finished in fifth position. They also qualified for the final round of the European futsal championships three times in 2005, 2010, and 2016. They are currently placed 28th in the FIFA futsal rankings.

Việt Nam have played in two FIFA Futsal World Cups before, in 2016 and 2020, reached the knockout-stage both times. At the most recent World Cup, they ended their campaign in the round of 16. They are now 39th in the world’s rankings.

The qualifiers for the 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup begin on October 7 in Mongolia and the event will also serve as the qualifying round of the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Việt Nam are in Group D and will face South Korea, Nepal, and the tournament's hosts Mongolia.

Among the three rivals in the group, South Korea are likely to be the biggest challenge for Việt Nam. However, the Vietnamese team led by coach Giustozzi Diego defeated South Korea 5-1 in the Asian futsal tournament last year.

A total of 31 Asian futsal teams have been divided into eight groups in the 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup.

The participating teams will compete in a round-robin format, with the best eight group winners and seven second-placed teams progressing through to the final round, which will also serve as the qualifying round of the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup. VNS