Earlier, in the preparations for the tournament, from the end of 2018, the AFF divided futsal teams in the region into two groups, in which hosts Vietnam were in Group A with Thailand, Timor-Leste and Cambodia. Meanwhile, Group B featured Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia and Australia.
However, as the 2019 AFF Futsal Championship are also playing as the qualifying round for the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship, the AFC has placed AFF teams into seed pots based on their continental rankings and re-organised a draw in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 16, as reported by the Vietnam Football Federation.
The draw results were as mentioned above, seeing hosts Vietnam fall into a tough group with fierce battles awaiting against strong opponents Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Group A includes Thailand, Myanmar, Timor-Leste and Cambodia.
Another challenge for Vietnam’s futsal team is the AFC also re-allocated the number of tickets to the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship for Southeast Asian teams. Accordingly, there will only be three slots for the AFF members at the finals instead of four as before. It forces Vietnam to fight hard for a top 3 finish at the upcoming tournament at home, which is scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City from October 21 to 27.
In preparation for the 2019 AFF Futsal Championship, Vietnam futsal team will gather by the end of September to go on a training course abroad.
