Vietnam to play World Cup qualifiers with Australia, China in Qatar

The Asian Football Confederation has approved Australia's proposal Monday to play their remaining World Cup qualifiers in Qatar, with the UAE being the backup plan.

Vietnam are expected to play Australia in Qatar on Jan. 22, 2022. Before that, they will play Australia at home in Hanoi's My Dinh National Stadium on Sept. 7 this year.

Previously, Football Australia failed to reach an agreement with the state government on exempting the two-week Covid-19 quarantine procedure for away teams, which made them unable to host home matches in Sydney.

Due to the complicated Covid-19 situation, China are also set to play their home games in Qatar. According to Chinese newspaper Sina, China Football Association will select a stadium in Qatar to play Japan on Sept. 7 and Vietnam a month later.

Vietnam will start the final World Cup qualifying round by playing an away match against Saudi Arabia on Sept. 2. Five days later, the Golden Dragons will return to My Dinh National Stadium to face Australia, without spectators.