"South Korea is an overwhelmingly strong team; our goal is 2nd or 3rd place" — Vietnamese media analyze Asian Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

Following the draw for the 2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, which placed the Vietnam national football team in the same group as South Korea and others, local analysts stated that "head coach Kim Sang-sik and the Vietnam national team will not focus solely on South Korea." The realistic assessment suggests that rather than aiming to surpass South Korea, Vietnam should target 2nd or 3rd place in the group to advance to the round of 16 knockout stage.

Vietnamese media outlet Thanh Nien, on the 10th (Korea time), analyzed the results of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup final tournament group draw held at the Salwa Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, noting that Vietnam was drawn into Group E alongside South Korea, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and either Lebanon or Yemen. The outlet stated, "If Vietnam can fully demonstrate its capabilities, this is a group draw with a high probability of advancing to the tournament's round of 16."

Ranked 99th in the April FIFA rankings, Vietnam belongs to Pot 3. It was drawn into a group with South Korea (25th) from Pot 1, UAE (68th) from Pot 2, and either Lebanon (108th) or Yemen (149th) from Pot 4. Lebanon and Yemen are scheduled to face each other in the third round of qualifiers early next month, with the winner advancing to Group E.

While the media analyzed the group draw as "clearly favorable," it added, "Of course, South Korea is included, but South Korea is not the primary focus for coach Kim Sang-sik. To advance from the group stage, Vietnam will aim for 2nd or 3rd place in the group. The realistic goal is to defeat the Pot 4 teams (Lebanon and Yemen) and secure at least one point against the Pot 2 team (UAE)." This implies that South Korea should finish first in the group, with Vietnam following behind to reach the knockout stage.

The media introduced the South Korean national team as an "overwhelmingly strong opponent," stating, "South Korea stands shoulder to shoulder with Japan and Iran and is consistently evaluated as Asia's top team. Just looking at the recent call-up list, there are 16 players active in the United States and Europe, including Son Heung-min (LAFC), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich)." The outlet did not deny the realistic gap in team strength, noting that Vietnam recently suffered a 0-6 defeat against South Korea in a direct matchup.

Instead, the media stated, "The opponent Vietnam must be most wary of is the UAE. However, as the UAE's poor performance in the previous World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers indicates, its prime days are over." It added, "In past Asian Cups, Vietnam has recorded 2 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses against West Asian teams. Vietnam's highest point total in the group stage of the Asian Cup was 4 points, achieved in the 2007 tournament against UAE, Qatar, and Japan."

This tournament, to be held in Saudi Arabia next January, is the highest-level international competition organized by the AFC, featuring 24 Asian teams. The group draw on this day proceeded by assigning the host nation, Saudi Arabia, to Pot 1, then dividing the remaining teams into four pots of six based on FIFA rankings, with one team from each pot assigned to each group. South Korea, ranked 25th in the FIFA rankings (third highest in Asia), was placed in Pot 1 as the top seed and received this group draw result.

South Korea holds a significant historical advantage over UAE with 13 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses, and over Vietnam with 17 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses. It also holds a clear advantage over Lebanon (12 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss) and Yemen (2 wins). South Korea was drawn into a group with teams that have a distinct historical superiority. In this tournament, the top two teams from each group, along with the top four third-placed teams among the six groups, will advance to the round of 16 knockout stage to determine the champion. The Korea Football Association previously announced at the time of appointing Hong Myung-bo as head coach of the national team in 2024 that his contract would extend until this tournament. Korean football is now challenging for its first title in 67 years since the 1960 tournament.

- Group A: Saudi Arabia (61·Host) Oman (79) Palestine (95) Kuwait (134)

- Group B: Uzbekistan (50) Jordan (63) Bahrain (91) North Korea (118)

- Group C: Iran (21) Syria (84) China (94) Kyrgyzstan (107)

- Group D: Australia (27) Iraq (57) Tajikistan (103) Singapore (147)

- Group E: South Korea (25) United Arab Emirates (UAE·68) Vietnam (99) Lebanon (108) or Yemen (149)

- Group F: Japan (18) Qatar (55) Thailand (93) Indonesia (122)

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*This content was translated by AI.