The AVC Nations Cup 2026 will take place from June 6 to 14 in Candon, Philippines. Vietnam's women's national volleyball team enters this year's tournament as the defending champion and is aiming to achieve a historic feat by winning a fourth consecutive continental title.

According to the draw, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and her teammates have been placed in Pool B alongside Kazakhstan, Iran, Indonesia, Hong Kong (China) and Lebanon. Pool A consists of the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Australia and Uzbekistan.

Teams will compete in a single round-robin format to determine rankings from first to sixth place in each pool. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. All teams will continue playing classification matches after the conclusion of the group stage.

Photo caption: Vietnam's women's volleyball team enters the tournament as defending champion. Photo: S.N

Schedule for the AVC Nations Cup 2026

Under the new competition format, the AVC Nations Cup 2026 is expected to be far more competitive, as every group-stage match carries significant importance. Vietnam will open its campaign against Lebanon on June 6.

Notably, all of Vietnam's group-stage matches are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. local time, equivalent to 8 a.m. in Vietnam. This marks the first time the Vietnamese women's team has had to compete at such an unfamiliar hour in a major Asian tournament.

A member of the coaching staff said that with such early match times, players will need to wake up as early as 6 a.m., or even earlier, to have breakfast, attend tactical meetings, travel to the venue and complete their warm-up routines.

Before the AVC Nations Cup 2026, Vietnam's players had already gone through a busy stretch of competitions, including the Hoa Lu Cup, the first phase of the National Championship, the Hung Vuong Cup and most recently the VTV9 Binh Dien Cup. As a result, they have maintained strong match fitness and competitive rhythm.

However, after regrouping and completing their first training sessions, head coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet said he would continue to closely monitor and assess each player in order to make timely adjustments where necessary.

At present, Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his squad are training intensively in preparation for the AVC Nations Cup 2026. Thanh Thuy and her teammates are determined to make history by capturing a fourth consecutive continental championship title.

Dai Nam