Futsal  

Việt Nam will play defending champions Thailand in Group A of the ASEAN Futsal Championship 2024 in Nakhon Ratchasima in early November. Photos of VFF

HÀ NỘI  Việt Nam will face arch-rival Thailand in Group A of the ASEAN Futsal Championship 2024 in the Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima in early November.

The group also include Malaysia, Timor-Leste and Brunei, while Group B will see Indonesia, Myanmar, Australia and Cambodia compete to move up, after a draw on September 27 in Bangkok.

Since the competition's inception in 2001, Thailand have won every tournament except in 2010, when they did not participate and Indonesia took the title. The hosts have racked up a record 16 wins and rank ninth in the world. In the ASEAN championship, Thailand are seeded No 1 and are the top candidate for the top podium.

Last year, they defeated Indonesia 5-3 in penalty shootouts after the match ended 2-2 in official time.

Việt Nam are the No 2 seed and finished at third place in 2022. The national team also finished second in this tournament in 2009 and 2012.

Teams will compete in a round-robin format, with the first and second place winners in each group progressing to the semi-final round.

Vietnamese players are scheduled to gather for training in HCM City on October 10. Under coach Diego Giustozzi, they will take part in a training camp and play two friendly matches in Thailand prior to the championship, which is set to take place in Nakhon Ratchasima from November 2 to 10.

Futsal commenters say that being in the same group with Thailand is good for Việt Nam.

The hosts, which are on a different level compared to the other teams, are expected to easily take one slot in the knockout phase. 

Việt Nam have twice competed in the World Cup and are expected to bag the second slot. The country is ranked No 33 in the world, while Malaysia sits at No 79, Timor-Leste at No 111, and Brunei at No 116.

In other futsal news, the national women's team won the friendly NSDF Women’s Futsal Championship 2024 in Thailand yesterday.

Vietnamese players. coaches and officials celebrate their victory.

After four matches, Việt Nam won three and drew one to gain the top podium spot.

The team beat Chinese Taipei 4-2, Indonesia 5-1 and China 3-0 before drawing with the hosts 2-2 to finish with 10 points. China came in second with nine points, and Thailand placed third with seven points.

It was the second friendly tournament Việt Nam played in 2024. 

In July they competed in the CFA Lanzhou Olympics Cup Women's Futsal International Tournament in China and finished second. VNS