U23 Việt Nam team returned home from South Korea on Sunday. They will meet Bình Dương in a friendly match in HCM City. – Photo docbao.vn

HÀ NỘI — The U23 Việt Nam team will play a friendly match against former V.League 1 champions Bình Dương on December 28.

The match, which is part of preparation of the team for the 2020 AFC U23 Championships, will be held at Thống Nhất Stadium in HCM City.

The team returned to HCM City from a training session in South Korea on Sunday. They will have three days off and will begin to train again on December 25.

Meanwhile, coach Park Hang-seo and his assistants are staying in South Korea for a holiday before the preparations begin.

During 10 days of training in Tongyeong, South Korea, Việt Nam beat Busan Transportation Corporation 3-2 and tied with Yeongnam University 0-0.

The whole team will leave for Thailand on January 1 and they will have one more friendly match with Bahrain two days later.

The 2020 AFC U23 Championship’s final round is set to take place from January 8 to 26 next year across four stadiums in Thailand, with the participation of 16 teams.

Việt Nam are in Group D together with the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and North Korea.

The continental championship also serves as a qualification event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with the four best teams qualifying as the AFC representatives. If Japan is one of the top four sides, then the fifth-place team will qualify.

Previously, Việt Nam booked a ticket to compete in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship’s final as they topped their Group K qualifying round after a perfect record of three wins and 11 goals, while conceding none.

Việt Nam were the first runners-up of the continental football tournament in 2018. — VNS