Scenario for U23 Vietnam to enter the 2026 AFC U23 Championship

VHO - The Vietnam U23 team will play the decisive match with Yemen U23 in the final match of Group C - 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers tonight, September 9, at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho).

The 1-0 victory over U23 Singapore and 2-0 victory over U23 Bangladesh helped U23 Vietnam lead Group C after 2 matches.

U23 Vietnam only needs to draw with U23 Yemen to advance.

U23 Vietnam and U23 Yemen - the team that beat U23 Bangladesh 1-0 and U23 Singapore 2-1 - both have 6 points, but U23 Vietnam is on top due to a better goal difference (+3 compared to +2).

With a better goal difference, U23 Vietnam only needs a draw to enter the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

If they lose to U23 Yemen, U23 Vietnam will compete for 1 of 4 spots reserved for the second-placed teams with the best results.

Because the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers have 11 groups (11 group winners and 4 best second-placed teams will advance), the competition between the second-placed teams is very fierce.

If they lose to U23 Yemen, U23 Vietnam will lose the right to self-determination in winning a ticket to the finals.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team must be among the top 4 best second-placed teams to be able to continue.

In this case, Vietnam will have 6 points with a goal difference of +2 or less. This is not a remarkable achievement when compared to the remaining 10 groups in the qualifying round.

Ranking of second-placed teams after the second round of matches

After the second round of matches, the four best runners-up teams, U23 China, U23 Iran, U23 Turkmenistan and U23 Yemen, all have 6 points after 2 matches. Of these, only U23 Yemen has a worse goal difference than U23 Vietnam.

In addition, the other 5 second-placed teams including U23 Indonesia, U23 Kyrgyzstan, U23 Lebanon, U23 Cambodia and U23 Kuwait all have 4 points after 2 matches.

So if they lose to Yemen, U23 Vietnam will need to try to avoid a close loss. In case of a heavy loss, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will almost certainly be eliminated.

With home ground advantage and a team that is considered to be superior, U23 Vietnam can completely achieve the goal of scoring points against U23 Yemen - a team that also did not show much in the 2 matches against U23 Bangladesh and U23 Singapore.

Even before this match, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team were determined to win to get a direct ticket and give it to the fans.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/kich-ban-de-u23-viet-nam-lot-vao-vck-u23-chau-a-2026-166985.html