Vietnam team falls into 'easy' group in 2026 World Cup qualifiers round 2
The draw put Vietnam in Group F against Iraq, the Philippines and the winner of the Indonesia vs Brunei match, in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.
According to the results of the draw,Vietnam teamfell into group F, facing opponents Philippines, Iraq and the winner of the Indonesia - Brunei match.
This is a group that is considered "easy" for coach Philippe Troussier's team, because besides Iraq, which is highly rated, the remaining opponents including the Philippines and most likely Indonesia are all too familiar to the Vietnamese team.
Meanwhile, Vietnam's rival Thailand is in a very difficult group C, facing South Korea, China, and the winner of the Singapore vs Guam match.
The second qualifying round has 36 participating teams, including the top 26 teams in Asia according to the FIFA rankings, and the remaining 10 teams are winners of the first qualifying round.
The teams in the second round are divided into 9 groups of 4 teams each, playing a double round-robin (home and away) from November 2023 to June 2024 to calculate the ranking points. The first and second teams in each group will qualify for the third round (a total of 18 teams), and will also directly qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup Finals. The remaining teams will go straight to the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
The draw for the third round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia will take place in 2024. The eighteen winners of the second qualifying round will be divided into three groups of six teams each, playing home-away matches to determine points. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed teams in each group (a total of six teams) will advance to the fourth round, also known as the Asian play-off round.
During FIFA days in October, VFF plans for the Vietnamese team to train in Korea and will have a very high-quality match with the Korean national team, currently ranked 28th in the world.
The six teams in the Asian play-off round are divided into two groups of three teams each, playing in a round-robin format at the venue. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the second-placed teams from both groups will play a home-and-away knockout match to determine who will advance to the intercontinental play-off.
Under coach Park Hang Seo, the Vietnamese team reached the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. Hopefully, with a group that is not too difficult, coach Philippe Troussier and his students will do better than their predecessor to realize their World Cup dream.
World Cup 2026 qualifying round 2 draw results:
Table A:Qatar, India, Kuwait, Afghanistan or Mongolia.
Table B:Japan, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar or Macao (China).
Group C: South Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore or Guam.
Table D:Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Taiwan (China) or Timor Leste.
Table E:Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong (China) or Bhutan.
Table F:Philippines, Vietnam, Iraq, Indonesia or Brunei.
Group G:Tajikistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia or Pakistan.
Table H:Bahrain, UAE, Yemen or Sri Lanka, Nepal or Laos.
Table I:Lebanon, Palestine, Australia, Maldives or Bangladesh.
