Vietnam to face the Philippines in first World Cup qualifier

Five days later on the home turf, Troussier’s players will face Iraq, their strongest opponents in Group F, before meeting Indonesia in March 2024.

The second round of the 2026 World Cup qualification in Asia includes 36 teams, which are divided into nine groups of four teams. The teams will play against each other on a home-and-away basis from November 2023 to June 2024.

The winners and runners-up in each group will advance to the third round and automatically qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Eighteen teams in the third round are then divided into three six-team groups, where the winners and runners-up in each group will qualify directly for the World Cup.