The Vietnamese national football team will play three friendly matches as part of FIFA Days in October. Photo laodong.vn

Football

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese national football team will play three friendly matches in October as they prepare for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and 2023 AFC Asian Cup campaigns.

They will face China, Uzbekistan, and South Korea as part of FIFA Days.

Việt Nam will take part in a training course in China in October where they will meet China on October 10 before taking on Uzbekistan on October 13.

Việt Nam will then travel to South Korea a day later for an intensive training. They will meet the South Korean team in Suwon City on October 17.

Việt Nam have risen up two places in the latest rankings released by football’s governing body FIFA, to 93rd. Meanwhile, South Korea are 26th, China are in 79th, and Uzbekistan are ranked 75th.

All of these opponents are higher than Việt Nam in the world’s rankings.

At FIFA Days matches in June and September, Nam Định Province's Thiên Trường Stadium host two games between Việt Nam and Syria and Palestine.

The 1-0 win over Syria and 2-0 victory against Palestine helped Việt Nam to accumulate points and duly improve their position in the global rankings.

By being ranked among the world’s top 100 and Asia’s top 20 sides, the Vietnamese national team won’t be required to take part in a play-off round in order to progress through to the group stage of qualifiers for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

All 36 teams in the region are set to be divided into nine groups, with the best two teams ultimately making it through to the third qualification round of the Asian region for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as well as making the finals of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

Việt Nam are scheduled to compete in World Cup qualifiers from mid-November to June, 2024.

Việt Nam have been drawn in Group F alongside the Philippines, Iraq, and the winner of the upcoming play-off match between Indonesia and Brunei. 

According to the schedule, Việt Nam under the guidance of coach Philippe Troussier will play as a visitor against the Philippines on November 16 and then return to their home ground to face Iraq on November 21. VNS