Will four Southeast Asian teams be drawn into the same group at the 2019 Asian Cup?

Yesterday (April 12th), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the seeding for the 2019 Asian Cup. Contrary to initial predictions, the Vietnamese national team was placed in Group 3, despite being ranked 103rd in the world and 17th in Asia. Meanwhile, Thailand was placed in Group 2. Previously, many believed that Thailand would be in Group 4 because they were the lowest-ranked Southeast Asian team participating in the tournament in the UAE in January 2019.

According to the AFC's explanation, Thailand is placed in Group 2 because it was among the 12 teams that participated in the third round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region. Australia, also considered a member of Southeast Asia but not a member of the AFF, is in Group 1 along with top teams such as Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and host nation UAE. The Philippines is in Group 4.

With the AFC's group draw results, the four representatives from Southeast Asia are in four different groups, and it's entirely possible they could be drawn into the same group. If this happens, Vietnam's chances of advancing will be very bright, because besides Australia, who are considered superior, Thailand and the Philippines are familiar opponents with not much difference in skill level. Furthermore, one of the four best third-placed teams will also qualify.

However, the worst-case scenario is that the Vietnamese national team could be drawn into a "group of death." In Group 1, regardless of which team we face, they are all considered stronger than us. In Group 2, China, Iraq, Qatar, and Uzbekistan are all very strong. And in Group 4, Bahrain, Jordan, and North Korea are formidable forces.