Latest U.23 Asia draw schedule: U.23 Vietnam has the advantage, determined to repeat the miracle

The draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship will take place on October 2, where U23 Vietnam will determine its potential opponents.

U.23 Vietnam anxiously awaits its opponent

The draw for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals will be held at 2 p.m. on October 2 at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Here, Vietnam U23 will determine their opponents in the group stage.

According to the seeding principle, Saudi Arabia, as the host, is automatically seeded in Pot 1. The remaining 15 teams are divided into 4 pots based on their performance in the last 3 finals, with the corresponding scoring coefficients: 100% for the 2024 tournament, 50% for the 2022 tournament and 25% for the 2020 tournament.

Teams participating in the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship finals

PHOTO: AFC

Specifically, the seed groups are identified as follows:

Group 1: Saudi Arabia (host), Uzbekistan (ranked 1st), Japan (ranked 2nd), Iraq (ranked 3rd).

Group 2: Korea (ranked 5th), Vietnam (ranked 6th), Australia (ranked 7th), Qatar (ranked 8th).

Group 3: Thailand (ranked 9th), Jordan (ranked 10th), UAE (ranked 11th), Iran (ranked 12th).

Group 4: China (ranked 13th), Syria (ranked 14th), Kyrgyzstan (ranked 15th), Lebanon (ranked 16th).

According to the competition format, the 16 teams participating in the final round will be divided into 4 groups. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The final match is scheduled to take place on February 25, 2026.

Because they are in the second seed group, U.23 Vietnam will certainly avoid very strong teams like U.23 Korea, U.23 Australia and U.23 Qatar.

Waiting for a miracle

Previously, the journey of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team through the qualifying round in group C left many impressions.

U.23 Vietnam won all three matches, defeating U.23 Bangladesh (2-0), U.23 Singapore (1-0) and U.23 Yemen (1-0) to take the top spot in the group with 9 absolute points.

U.23 Vietnam won all 7 recent matches

PHOTO: VFF

This is the sixth consecutive time that U.23 Vietnam has participated in the U.23 Asian finals, continuing to affirm its stable position in the continental arena and bringing great expectations to fans in the upcoming journey to Saudi Arabia.

In addition, it is impossible not to mention the enthusiastic support from Phu Tho audiences during the three matches of the team in the qualifying round. Viet Tri Stadium was always bright red with flags, creating a vibrant atmosphere, inspiring and motivating the players to compete confidently and complete the set goals.

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship will take place from January 7 to January 25, 2026 in Saudi Arabia. In previous AFC U23 Championships, Vietnam U23's best achievement was the runner-up finish in 2018. In the 2022 and 2024 AFC U23 Championships, Vietnam U23 reached the quarter-finals.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-boc-tham-u23-chau-a-moi-nhat-u23-viet-nam-co-uu-the-quyet-tai-lap-ky-tich-18525092912095084.htm