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Vietnam currently rank 96th in the world and 17th in Asia in the FIFA rankings.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said under the previous seeding methodology, as one of the 12 teams advancing to the final qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Vietnam would be in Pot 2.

However, the AFC has decided to seed teams based on their latest positions in the FIFA men’s world rankings right before the draw. Vietnam currently rank 96th in the world and 17th in Asia, so it is impossible to move to the 12th place in Asia (the lowest position for a team in Pot 2) on the FIFA rankings to be released on April 6.

That means Vietnam will be in Pot 3. Others in the same pot at present are Bahrain (13th in Asia), Syria (14th), Palestine (15th), Kyrgyzstan (16th), and Lebanon (18th).

Vietnam are also the only Southeast Asian representative in Pot 3. Other Southeast Asian teams, namely Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are in Pot 4.

After the FIFA world rankings are updated on April 6, the AFC will officially announce the four pots in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup draw, scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar, on May 11.

Twenty-four teams in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be divided into six four-team groups competing in a round-robin format. The first- and second-place teams of each group, together with the four best-performing third-place teams will enter the round of 16.

The tournament is set to be held in Qatar from January 12 to February 10, 2024.

Source: VNA