What does the Vietnam team do on FIFA Days in September?

While the Vietnamese team only played practice matches with two domestic clubs, strong regional opponents all played international friendlies to gain experience and improve their FIFA rankings.

Vietnam team (red shirt) in the 0-4 loss to Malaysia in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup - Photo: ANH KHOA

The Vietnamese team has gathered in Hanoi since August 29 on the occasion of FIFA Days in September. The team will have two practice matches with Hanoi Police Club (September 4) and Nam Dinh Club (September 7).

Coach Kim Sang Sik's main purpose in this training session is to review, test and evaluate the team to prepare for the next matches in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup taking place next October.

The reason the Vietnamese team did not play an international friendly match on the occasion of FIFA Days in September was because coach Kim Sang Sik was busy leading the Vietnamese U23 team to participate in the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers, which also took place in September at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ).

But surprisingly, in Southeast Asia, U23 Vietnam is not the only one playing in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, so coach Kim Sang Sik has to prioritize focusing on the U23 Vietnam team. Meanwhile, the Vietnam team plays internal training with 2 domestic clubs and is led by acting coach Dinh Hong Vinh.

Thailand organizes the traditional King's Cup tournament for the national team to compete - Photo: CHANGSUEK

Meanwhile, rivals in the Southeast Asian region all took advantage of the FIFA Days in September to play international friendly matches to compete professionally, accumulate points and improve their rankings on the FIFA rankings.

Thailand (ranked 102nd in the world ) is the host of the 2025 King's Cup with the participation of Iraq (ranked 58th in the world), Hong Kong (ranked 147th) and Fiji (ranked 150th).

According to the draw results, Thailand will face Fiji, while Iraq will face Hong Kong on September 4. The winners of these two matches will advance to the final, while the losers will play for third place on September 7.

Indonesia (ranked 118th) also has two international friendly matches with Taiwan (ranked 172nd) on September 5 and Lebanon (ranked 112th) on September 8 to prepare for the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in October.

Initially, Indonesia was scheduled to play friendly matches with Lebanon and Kuwait (ranked 138). However, Kuwait suddenly cancelled the friendly match even though tickets had already been sold, prompting the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) to say it would file a complaint with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Meanwhile, Malaysia - the opponent in the same group with Vietnam and won 4-0 in the first leg of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup - also has two international friendlies. Previously, they refused to participate in the 2025 CAFA Nations because they could not call up naturalized players playing abroad.

Specifically, Malaysia (ranked 125) will play a friendly match with Singapore (ranked 159) on September 4 before hosting Palestine (ranked 98) on September 8.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-lam-gi-dip-fifa-days-thang-9-20250830200625262.htm