Vietnam may face regional rivals in Asian Cup finals

March 29, 2018 | 17:20

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The Vietnamese national football team could face regional rivals Thailand or the Philippines in the final round of the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because the three Southeast Asian football teams have been drawn into two separate groups.

Vietnam were seeded into the third group, with Iraq, Uzbekistan, India, Qatar, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Meanwhile, the Philippines and Thailand were unseeded. They were drawn into the fourth group, with Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, and Turkmenistan. As they are in separate groups, there is a chance that Vietnam will have to play one of the two Southeast Asian teams to secure progression in the knock-out round.

Twenty-four teams have won a place in the finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, including the host country of the UAE, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, China, Palestine, Oman, India, Lebanon, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bahrain, Yemen, Philippines, Jordan, and Vietnam.

The draw for the finals of the 2019 Asian Cup is scheduled for May 4, 2018 in Dubai. The 24 nations will be divided into 6 groups of 4 teams.

The first and second placed teams of each group and 4 third placed teams will go through to a 16 team knockout stage.

The final round of the 2019 Asian Cup will be held from January 5 to February 1, 2019 in 8 stadiums across 4 different cities of the UAE.

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