*This content was translated by AI.
It is predicted that the South Korean U23 national football team will be assigned to Port 1 in the 2028 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Asian Cup finals draw, which will also be the qualifying round for the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics two years later.
Vietnamese media VN Express said on the 1st, "According to the port allocation regulations, the 2028 competition will be automatically allocated to port 1, and the remaining 15 teams participating in the finals will be divided into ports 1 to 4 according to the results of the last three competitions. Vietnam will be on par with Japan, Uzbekistan, and South Korea in Port 1," he predicted.
According to reports, the port allocation for the 2028 tournament will be determined by the performance of the last three tournaments. The 2026 tournament performance is 100% reflected, and the 2024 and 2022 tournament performances are 50% and 25%, respectively, and the ports of the teams that advance to the finals will be allocated. The port is used in the draw. If you belong to port 1, you don't meet with the same port teams. Only when they are in the top port can they avoid a group match against a strong team.
South Korea's performance was poor because it was eliminated from the quarterfinals in both the 2022 and 2024 tournaments. In the 2026 tournament, which reflects the most weight, it will be allocated to Port 1 thanks to its ranking in fourth place.
In the case of Japan, it won back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2026 and ranked third in the 2022 tournament, so the allocation of Port 1 is definitive. Uzbekistan was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the 2026 tournament, but finished second in consecutive tournaments in 2022 and 2024. Vietnam reached the quarterfinals with South Korea in both the 2022 and 2024 competitions, and finished in third place, higher than South Korea in the 2026 competition.
The variable is that there are four teams assigned to Port 1, of which the host country of the finals is assigned to Port 1. However, VN Express said, "According to Chinese media, Japan is the only country that has submitted an application to AFC to hold the tournament, so it is expected to almost certainly win the right to hold the next tournament. Therefore, it is very likely that Vietnam, Japan, Uzbekistan, and South Korea will be included in the Port 1 group.
The biennial AFC U23 Asian Cup also serves as an Olympic Asian qualifying tournament in the year of the Olympics. This year's competition, which was led by head coach Lee Min-sung in fourth place, has nothing to do with the right to participate in the Olympics because the Olympics are not held. From the 2028 event, which also serves as the qualification for the LA Olympics, it will be held only in the year when the Olympics are held every four years. The qualification for men's soccer at the LA Olympics has been reduced to 12 teams, including the host country. There are only two tickets allocated to Asia.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
