Vietnam eye Futsal World Cup slot

By Dang Khoa November 13, 2020 | 08:27 pm PT

Vietnamese player Chau Doan Phat (R) strikes the last goal to raise the score to 4-2 against Malaysia at the Futsal HDBank Championship Southeast Asia 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, October 23, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong.

Vietnam hope to finish in the top five at the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship in Kuwait early next year to secure a spot in the World Cup.

The league was originally scheduled to be played in Turkmenistan early this year, but was postponed to March 23-April 3 next year due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Vietnam qualified by finishing third in the 2019 HDBank Southeast Asia Futsal Championship.

They will be in relatively weak Group A with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Oman, which improves their chances of qualifying for the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup to be held from September 12 to October 14 next year in Lithuania.

In the latest futsal world ranking, Vietnam rose one place from December last year to 44th with 1,046 points, well above Tajikistan (62nd), Turkmenistan (69th) and Oman (93rd).