Vietnam SEA Games football seeding improves after complaint

By Ha Do   April 21, 2019 | 08:00 pm PT
Vietnam SEA Games football seeding improves after complaint
Vietnam national football team celebrate victory at AFF Cup, December 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong
Vietnam have been moved up one pot in the SEA Games draw three days after the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) lodged a complaint.

They will now be placed in the third pot along with Myanmar, with Singapore moving down one pot to the fourth.

The VFF’s complaint about Vietnam’s lowly seeding was to have been discussed on April 22 at an ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) meeting, but it has been resolved slightly earlier after the AFF and SEA Games 30 host Philippines reached an agreement.

In March the seedings were announced with the hosts explaining they were based on performances in the last SEA Games in 2017 when Vietnam failed to qualify from the group stage.

But the VFF pointed out that Singapore (six points) and Myanmar (nine points) too did not qualify and yet were ranked higher than Vietnam, who earned 10 points at the tournament. Placement in the bottom pot would have seen Vietnam drawn in a tough group.

The SEA Games 30 will take place from November 30 to December 10 this year.

In the past they were restricted to under-22 footballers, but the rules have been changed to allow each team to have two players aged above 22.

This means key senior players like Nguyen Cong Phuong, Dang Van Lam and Que Ngoc Hai could play for Vietnam this time.

The Vietnamese U23 team have in recent times qualified for the finals of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship with three wins, including a 4-0 thrashing of Thailand, and no goals conceded.

 
 
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