What survival conditions does U.23 Vietnam need to satisfy to attend the AFC U.23 Championship?

Although still holding the top position in Group C after the second round, U.23 Vietnam is still under great pressure from U.23 Yemen's ability to catch up.

U.23 Vietnam needs at least 1 point in the final match.

Le Van Thuan's valuable goal helped U.23 Vietnam beat U.23 Singapore (1-0) in the second match, thereby maintaining the top position in Group C of the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers.

In the early match, U.23 Yemen also won U.23 Bangladesh with the minimum difference. After 2 matches, both U.23 Vietnam and U.23 Yemen have 6 points, but coach Kim Sang-sik's students are ranked higher due to a better goal difference (+3 compared to +2).

U.23 Vietnam faces competition from U.23 Yemen

PHOTO: MINH TU

In the final match taking place at 7pm on September 9, U.23 Vietnam will face U.23 Yemen. This is the "final" match of Group C, determining the top team to win a direct ticket to the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship finals. Meanwhile, U.23 Singapore and U.23 Bangladesh have both left the competition with 0 points after 2 matches.

Van Thuan scores a precious goal, U.23 Vietnam struggles to beat Singapore

To win a ticket to the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship, Vietnam U-23 needs to win or draw with Yemen U-23. At least 1 point in the final match is enough for Dinh Bac and his teammates to defend the top spot in the group, equivalent to a ticket to the final round.

However, what if U.23 Vietnam loses to U.23 Yemen in the decisive match?

At that time, U.23 Yemen will officially win the ticket with 9 points after 3 matches. Meanwhile, coach Kim Sang-sik's team will be second in the group with 6 points after 3 matches.

In the U.23 Asian qualifiers, a total of 11 groups (44 teams competing) are taking place simultaneously. The 11 group winners will join the host U.23 Saudi Arabia in the U.23 Asian finals. Meanwhile, the remaining 4 spots will be awarded to the 4 best runners-up out of the 11 runners-up.

Thus, if they finish second in the group and still want to get a ticket to the final round, U.23 Vietnam must be in the top 4 second-place teams with the most impressive scores and goal difference.

Ranking of second-placed teams after 2 rounds

SCREENSHOT

In the U.23 Asian qualifiers, when comparing the second-placed teams' scores, the organizers will deduct the results of matches against the bottom team. This means that U.23 Vietnam will only have 3 points (if they lose to U.23 Yemen in the final round).

Because they only won against U.23 Singapore by 1 goal, coach Kim Sang-sik's team will face many disadvantages when comparing goal difference with other second-place teams.

Currently, in the remaining groups, only group G (with U.23 Cambodia and U.23 Oman competing for second place) and group J (U.23 Indonesia competing for second place with U.23 Laos) have a high possibility that the second-placed team will only have 4 points, after deducting the result with the bottom team, there is only 1 point left.

U.23 Vietnam 1-0 U.23 Singapore: The home team firmly holds the top spot in Group C

Meanwhile, in many groups, the second-placed team will have 3 to 4 points (after deducting the results with the bottom team) and a better goal difference than U.23 Vietnam.

Therefore, if they finish second in the group, U.23 Vietnam is at high risk of having to stay home and watch the final round.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team's goal is to win or draw with U.23 Yemen. With home field advantage and a style of play that is gradually becoming established, it is possible to believe that U.23 Vietnam is capable of determining its own fate, instead of having to anxiously wait for the other groups.

Watch live and complete Group C - 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-can-thoa-man-dieu-kien-song-con-gi-de-du-vck-u23-chau-a-185250907034803157.htm