Draw of World Cup's third qualifiers: Vietnam in No. 6 seed group

Vietnam has been placed in the No. 6 seed group, together with Lebanon, among six seed groups for the upcoming draw of the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s third Asian qualifiers.
June 20, 2021 | 07:52
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Chelsea FC congratulates Vietnam on entering the final qualifying round in Vietnamese Chelsea FC congratulates Vietnam on entering the final qualifying round in Vietnamese
Captain Que Ngoc Hai (R) greets Nguyen Tien Linh who scored one of Vietnam's two goals in the World Cup qualification game with the UAE, June 15, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa.
Captain Que Ngoc Hai (R) greets Nguyen Tien Linh who scored one of Vietnam's two goals in the World Cup qualification game with the UAE, June 15, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

With two wins and one loss in the final matches in group G of the second qualifiers in the United Arabian Emirates (UAE), Vietnam earned 2.79 more points and ranked 11th among 12 teams competing in the third qualifiers. Lebanon ranked in the 12th position, according to VietnamPlus.

The No. 1 group comprises Japan and Iran. Meanwhile, Australia and the Republic of Korea are in the No. 2 group, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the No. 3, Iraq and China in the No. 4, and Oman and Syria in the No. 5 groups.

Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Tran Quoc Tuan said the VFF will create optimal conditions for coach Park Hang-seo and his team at the third qualifiers.

He said Vietnam’s rivals will be strong teams like Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Iran and Australia that had joined the World Cup final for many times.

Therefore, Vietnam needs to make thorough preparations, he stressed, adding that the VFF is working on different scenarios based on the development of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How to help the players maintain their regular exercise and fitness, and have the best performance is the most important, according to Tuan.

He said after the draw results, the VFF and the coaching staff will draw up detailed plans to make the best preparations for the upcoming matches.

Forward Cong Phuong in Vietnam-UAE match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s qualifying round. Photo: VNA
Forward Cong Phuong in Vietnam-UAE match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s qualifying round. Photo: VNA

Vietnam have made it to the third round of World Cup qualifiers for the first time in history as one of the best group's runners up, VnExpress said.

Despite losing 2-3 to the UAE in the last match of group G, Vietnam still advanced as one of the five best second-placed teams in the tournament.

After deducting six points from the wins against Indonesia, who are fifth in group G, Vietnam have 11 points. The Golden Dragons bested other second-placed teams in other groups like Jordan, Tajikistan and Lebanon.

Other Asian teams advancing are Australia, China, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Syria and the UAE.

The Vietnamese national team advance to the third qualifiers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the first time. (Photo: VNA)
The Vietnamese national team advance to the third qualifiers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the first time. (Photo: VNA)

According to FIFA, twelve teams have qualified for the third round after a nearly two-year long journey in Round 2. Group winners Syria (A), Australia (B), IR Iran (C), Saudi Arabia (D), Japan (F), United Arab Emirates (G) and Korea Republic (H) will be joined by the five best runners-up: China PR (A), Oman (E), Iraq (C), Vietnam (G) and Lebanon (H). Qatar finished as winners of Group E, but as hosts have already qualified for the World Cup and will not participate in the next round of qualifying.

The 12 teams will be split into two groups of six in a home-and-away, round robin format. The winners and runners-up in each group (four total) will qualify directly for the World Cup finals, while the third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round, where they will play to determine which team will advance to the intercontinental play-off.

The third round draw will be conducted on 1 July in Kuala Lumpur, Malasia.

Games in the third round are scheduled to be played on the following match days: 2 September 2021, 7 September 2021, 7 October 2021, 12 October 2021, 11 November 2021, 16 November 2021, 27 January 2022, 1 February 2022, 24 March 2022 and 29 March 2022.

VFF recognised as A Level member of AFC

Despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnam Football Federation still organises a full range of courses as planned. (Photo courtesy of VFF)
Despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnam Football Federation still organises a full range of courses as planned. Photo courtesy of VFF

The VFF said the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on June 18 officially announced the recognition of A Level membership for the VFF related to the AFC Coaching Convention.

This is good news for the VFF following its endeavours in organising football coach training courses at all levels in line with the AFC's standards. Particularly in 2020 and 2021, despite impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the VFF has still organised a full range of courses as planned, thereby making a positive contribution to the training of human resources for Vietnamese football.

It was attributed partially to the efforts of Technical Director Yusuke Aachi, who have been proactive in making plans.

Adachi is known as one of the elite coaches of the AFC. He was appointed as a lecturer in the AFC professional football coach training course held in Vietnam for the first time in 2017. This is the highest certified coaching course in the AFC training system.

Being recognised as a A level membership of AFC, the VFF can organise its courses and grant certificates to the trained coaches. These certificates are valid throughout Asia.

After six months, depending on the ability and training programmes, the VFF can continue to apply for PRO membership from the AFC so that they can organise their own Pro-Diploma Coaching Courses – the highest level of coaching accreditation issued by the AFC, VietnamPlus said./.

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