The invitation was made by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) which organizes the international football tournament in the kingdom.
There will be four international participants in this year’s tournament: Thailand, Vietnam, India and El Salvador. China was in the original line up, but they withdrew in the last minute and El Salvador agreed to take the spot.
King’s Cup 2019 will take place from June 5 to 8, which is the same time as FIFA’s international break (FIFA Day), therefore Vietnam’s results in the tournament will be counted to their FIFA Ranking scores that are used for seeding nations at big tournaments.
King’s Cup is considered a great chance for Vietnam to compete and prepare for World Cup 2022 qualification round in November.
Vietnam (rank 99) will face El Salvador (rank 73) in the first match. The other match is between Thailand (rank 115) and India (rank 103).
The winners of two matches will go head to head in the final, while the other two teams will play for the third place.
Vietnam competed in King’s Cup 2006 and lost 1-3 to hosts Thailand in the final.
Founded in 1968, King’s Cup is one of the oldest tournaments held by Thailand. The competition has featured many national football teams, notably Brazil in 1999. The current champion is Slovakia, who won King’s Cup 2018.
On March 26, Vietnam U23 beat Thailand 4-0 to qualify for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship. Vietnam’s U19 team also beat Thailand 1-0 to lift the International U19 title in Nha Trang resort town on March 30.
Vietnam’s national team was also among the top eight at the Asian Cup 2019, reaching the quarterfinals.