Vietnam will face Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Timor Leste in the men’s football in the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) group stage which will take place in May in Vietnam.
| Vietnam's former player Do Thi Ngoc Cham announces draw results on April 6. Photos: VFF |
Group B includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos, according to draw results released in Hanoi on April 6.
The fixture, which is based on the performance of the teams in the last two SEA Games (2017 and 2019), sorts out the two groups of the tournament running from May 6 to May 22 Hanoi and nearby provinces of Nam Dinh and Phu Tho.
Vietnam and Thailand will not face off in the group stage since both are the top seeds, being the winners of the last two SEA Games football tournaments in 2019 and 2017.
The matches will take place at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm local time.
| Vietnam's former player Pham Thanh Luong at the event. |
The first match of the tournament is Vietnam vs Indonesia on May 6, three days later, the Golden Star Warriors will come up against the Philippines, its next match with Myanmar is on May 13, and the final group-stage match is scheduled on May 15.
Indonesia’s U23 team by coach Shin Tae Young has made strong progress in recent years. In the 31st SEA Games, the squad is determined to win gold.
Meanwhile, the two opponents that Vietnam’s U23 cannot ignore are U23 Myanmar and the Philippines. Myanmar’s U23 always causes difficulties for Vietnam in the SEA Games while Philippine U23 have many qualified young players.
Today’s draw also results in schedules for women’s football and futsal. Eight teams for the women’s football include the host Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Indonesia in group A and Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Singapore for Group B.
As such, Group A marks a game between two qualifying teams for World Cup 2023: Vietnam and the Philippines. The Philippines squad has been reinforced recently thanks to naturalized and foreign-born players.
| Coach Mai Duc Chung (L) of the Vietnamese women's football team and Park Hang-seo of men's football. |
Coach Mai Duc Chung of the Vietnam women’s football, the SEA Games champions in 2017 and 2019), said today that the group candidates are strong competitors but Vietnam targets to defend the title.
The female players will compete in Hanoi’s nearby provinces of Hung Yen and Quang Ninh, home to the world’s natural heritage site Ha Long Bay.
The men’s futsal teams in this SEA Games are Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar to play matches on May 11, 14, 16, 18, and 20.
Meanwhile, women’s futsal matches will take place on May 10, 13, 15, 17, and 19 with five competitors Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar.
Regarding men’s football, coach Park Hang-seo on April 5 announced a list of 27 Vietnamese players for the SEA Games. Under regulations, each team is allowed to register a maximum of three players above 23.
Midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai, 25, one of the best players on the Vietnamese national football team, has yet listed for the tournament as he will become a free player from April 12 after his contract with the Hanoi FC is terminated. His plan to play abroad is on discussions.
On April 7, Vietnam’s U23 will gather in Hanoi and it is scheduled to have two international friendly matches before the 31st SEA Games.
The Vietnamese national team won the SEA Games football gold medal in 2019 after 60 years.
Meanwhile, the women’s team will go to South Korea for two friendly matches with the national team and four others with clubs before gathering for SEA Games.
