The draw results are considered to be favorable for the Vietnamese side as the RoK, Nepal, and hosts Mongolia have lower rankings than Vietnam.
The RoK were the runners-up at the 1999 AFC Futsal Championship and are said to pose the most difficulties for the Vietnamese team. However, last year, the Vietnamese team led by coach Giustozzi Diego trounced the RoK 5-1 in the Asian tournament.
Meanwhile, Thailand are in Group A with Turkmenistan, Hong Kong (China), and China. Group B includes Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Macau (China).
Group C consists of Iran, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, and the Maldives; while Group E comprises Tajikistan, Myanmar, Palestine, and India. Group F will see the participation of Kuwait, Bahrain, Timor Leste, and Brunei; Group G includes Uzbekistan, Iraq, Malaysia, Cambodia); and Group H is made up by Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Australia.
The 31 participating teams will compete in a round-robin format, with eight first-placed teams and seven second-placed teams advancing to the final round, which will also serve as the qualifying round of the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Source: VNA