The qualification round will feature 44 teams divided into 11 groups of four. Matches will be played in a single round-robin format at centralized venues from September 1 to 9, 2025.

The 11 group winners and the four best second-placed teams will qualify for the final tournament, alongside host nation Saudi Arabia, who have secured automatic qualification.

At a meeting on April 30, the AFC announced the 11 host countries for the qualifiers, namely Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Qatar, Tajikistan, Thailand and the UAE. This means U23 Vietnam will not face any of the other host nations in the group stage.

The group stage draw is scheduled for May 29 at the AFC headquarters. Following their quarterfinal run at the 2024 edition, Vietnam have been seeded in Pot 1 alongside Japan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Qatar, China, Tajikistan and Kuwait. These teams also cannot be drawn in the same group as Vietnam.

To prepare for the 2026 qualifiers, the U23 Vietnam squad will continue to gather and train during upcoming FIFA Days, in parallel with the senior national team’s training camps.

Vietnam in favourable group for U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers

VOV.VN - Vietnam have been handed a relatively favourable draw for the qualification round of the 2026 AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup, following a lucky draw held in Malaysia on April 28.