Vietnam team will play friendly matches with Russia and Thailand

The leader of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said that next week, VFF will sign a contract to officially finalize the schedule of friendly matches with the Russian and Thai teams.

These two friendly matches will take place at My Dinh National Stadium. Accordingly, the Vietnamese team is likely to meet Russia on September 5 and Thailand on September 10. These matches are part of the FIFA Days in September.

The Vietnamese team has a good opportunity to play friendly matches with strong teams, thereby preparing for the AFF Cup 2024 taking place at the end of this year.

Russia are ranked 33rd in the FIFA rankings. They are banned from UEFA competitions due to political issues. Russia has been playing friendly matches to keep the players fresh.

Meanwhile, the Thai team has always been a tough opponent for the Vietnamese team. The last time the two teams met was in the final of the AFF Cup 2022. Thailand won the final after two matches to win the championship.

In addition to the September friendly schedule, the Vietnamese team will also compete in the FIFA Days in October. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his players will compete in a 3-team tournament in Vietnam. The All India Football Federation confirmed this information when saying that the tournament includes Vietnam, India and Lebanon.

Coach Kim Sang-sik will certainly have at least four quality matches to prepare for the AFF Cup. The Korean coach took over the Vietnam national team in May, replacing coach Philippe Troussier. Mr. Kim led the Vietnamese team to the last two matches in the second qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup, with one win (against the Philippines) and one loss (against Iraq).

Coach Kim Sang-sik aims to win the 2024 AFF Cup, a tournament in which Vietnam is in the same group with Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Laos.