AFC U19 Championship: Vietnam pooled with Saudi Arabia, Australia and Laos

By Dang Khoa June 18, 2020 | 06:00 am PT

Vietnam (white) play Japan at the AFC U19 Championship qualifiers in Ho Chi Minh City, November 10, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong.

Vietnam was placed in group C against Saudi Arabia, Australia and Laos for the 2020 AFC U19 Championship, according to a draw held Thursday.

The drawing ceremony in Malaysia concluded with host nation Uzbekistan to face India, Cambodia and Iran in group A.

South Korea, Japan, Iraq and Bahrain will vie in group B while Qatar, Tajikistan, Malaysia and Yemen make up group D.

Vietnam qualified for the championship in Uzbekistan from October 14 to 31 for being one of the four best second-placed teams in the qualification round. With 7 points, the U19 national squad finished behind Japan in group J after previously defeating Mongolia 3-0 and Guam 4-1.

Vietnamese footballers are scheduled to gather in the northern Hung Yen Province between June 17 and July 5 for training.

Vietnam’s U19 team is led by French coach Philippe Troussier. It is expected he will lead the team to qualify for U20 FIFA World Cup for the second time in history.

Asia will have five slots at 2021 U20 World Cup. One slot belongs to hosts Indonesia and the other four to the semifinalists from AFC U19 Championship. Since Indonesia has automatically qualified, if they get to the semi-finals, the tournament will host a bonus playoff round between four teams that lose at the quarter-final stage. The winner of this round will get the last World Cup ticket.

In 2016, Vietnam reached the semi-finals of AFC U19 Championship and qualified for 2017 U20 World Cup. It was the first time in history a Vietnamese football team had qualified for a World Cup tournament.