The leaders of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the National Coaching Council (NCC), and head coach Park Hang-seo sat down for a meeting on May 7 to finalise their plans and preparations for the 2018 Asian Games (Asiad), the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup, and the 2019 Asian Cup, with the AFF Cup having been confirmed as Vietnam’s top priority.

The Vietnamese team (in red) will be given the most favourable conditions to prepare for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018. 

Accordingly, the three sides agreed that a positive result in the AFF Cup would boost the confidence of Vietnamese players ahead of their 2019 Asian Cup campaign, scheduled to commence a few weeks later.

In preparation for their gold medal hunt in the AFF Cup 2018, the national team will reconvene on October 11, calling up around 28 players. They will have a little over a month of training before heading off for an away match against Laos on November 8. Park Hang-seo’s side will take on Malaysia in their first home-field clash on November 16, before travelling to Myanmar on November 20, and then hosting Cambodia in their last group match on November 24.

The draw results for the 2019 Asian Cup finals.

In the event of progression to the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup, the Vietnamese squad will have 23 days left to prepare for their 2019 Asian Cup mission. The official draw for the 2019 Asian Cup finals took place recently in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with Vietnam joining Iran, Iraq, and Yemen in Group D. Among the three group competitors, world no. 36 Iran are considered the toughest opponents for Park Hang-seo and his players. A friendly match will be arranged for the Vietnamese team as part of their preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup.

The draw results for the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup.

As for the 2018 Asiad, Vietnam’s U23 team are scheduled to meet up on July 23 for a three-week training course, during which they will play three friendly games on August 3, 5, and 7 in an international tournament held by the VFF, before heading into the opening match of Asiad on August 14.

Park Hang-seo, the head coach of both Vietnam’s national team and U23 squad, told the domestic media that he and his coaching team will set aside time to observe V.League and First Division matches so that they can select the most outstanding players for the upcoming series of games.

Nhan Dan