Looking back at the achievements of Southeast Asian teams in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers
Southeast Asia has many representatives participating in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers. But so far, only Vietnam U23 has secured a ticket to the final round taking place in Qatar next year.
The 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers have gone 2/3 of the way. Up to now, the doors to the next round for the teams have gradually become clear. And just considering the Southeast Asian region, U23 Vietnam deserves to be the leader with two victories to take the top spot in Group C.
With this achievement, U23 Vietnam has secured a ticket to the final round in Qatar next year. Even if they lose to U23 Singapore in the match and are caught up by U23 Yemen in points, U23 Vietnam still has a better head-to-head record than Yemen. In addition, the possibility of U23 Vietnam losing to Singapore, a team with many problems, is very small at the moment.
Meanwhile, in Group H, where there are 3 Southeast Asian teams, the next ticket will soon be decided in the final match when U23 Thailand has to fight U23 Malaysia. These two teams are currently on 6 points after winning against the Philippines and Bangladesh.
Thailand U23 has a big advantage before the final match thanks to the better goal difference. They only need to win or draw to advance, while Malaysia U23 must win.
The door for U23 Malaysia if they lose the match is to compete for a place in the top 10 second-placed teams. U23 Malaysia is currently in the top 4 and they will have to show their determination in the do-or-die match with Thailand.
Another representative who is also very likely to continue is U23 Indonesia. After a devastating 9-0 victory over U23 Chinese Taipei, U23 Indonesia is leading this 3-man group. In the final match, they only need to gain points against U23 Turkmenistan to qualify for the next round.
In another development, U23 Cambodia is currently second in Group J, 2 points behind U23 Saudi Arabia. In the final match, they need to beat the giant U23 Saudi Arabia to be able to continue. This is considered a very difficult task for the representative of Southeast Asia.
In addition to the 5 teams mentioned above, other Southeast Asian representatives participating in the qualifying round but almost certainly having to stop include U23 Myanmar (last in Group B), U23 Brunei (last in Group A), U23 Singapore (3rd in Group C), U23 Timor Leste (3rd in Group F), U23 Philippines (last in Group H) and U23 Laos (3rd in Group I)./.
.jpg "U23 Việt Nam khởi đầu thuận lợi tại vòng loại Giải U23 châu Á 2026")
