The Vietnam national football team has been seeded in Pot 1 for the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, offering favorable conditions for the group stage draw.

Thanks to a three-spot jump to rank 116th globally and 21st in Asia in FIFA’s November 2024 rankings, Vietnam secured a place in the top seed group for the 2027 Asian Cup final qualifiers.

As a Pot 1 seed, coach Kim Sang Sik’s team will avoid facing other strong contenders in the same tier. Joining Vietnam in Pot 1 are Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Lebanon, and India.

In Southeast Asia, only Indonesia has secured direct qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup finals by advancing to the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Other teams from the region competing in the final qualifiers include Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, and Timor-Leste.

Malaysia and the Philippines are seeded in Pot 2, Singapore and Myanmar in Pot 3, and Brunei, Laos, and Timor-Leste in Pot 4.

The draw for the final qualifying round will take place on December 9. A total of 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four, competing in a single round-robin format both home and away between March 25 and March 31, 2025. The winners of each group (six teams) will secure tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup finals, hosted by Saudi Arabia.

As of now, 18 teams have already qualified for the tournament: Saudi Arabia, Australia, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar, UAE, Japan, South Korea, Oman, Palestine, Bahrain, Jordan, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan.

Dai Nam