Vietnam’s World Cup qualifier to be postponed due to Covid-19

In its statement issued on March 5, FIFA said that it met with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Zurich to discuss football activities in Asia.

The Covid-19 epidemic is spreading around the world, and postponing matches to limit its spread is advocated not only by the AFC but also by world football's governing body.

“For both FIFA and the AFC, the well-being and health of all individuals involved in football matches remains the highest priority, and as such, a formal proposal to postpone upcoming matches in the Asian FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers will now be shared with the relevant member associations,” FIFA said in its statement.

FIFA and the AFC will provide an update on these fixtures in the coming days following consultation with the AFC member associations, the document said, adding that information on other international matches may be provided by the relevant confederation or member association.

FIFA will continue to monitor the situation in relation to Covid-19 in cooperation with the World Health Organisation, the confederations and the member associations, it said.

As such, the statement means that FIFA and AFC will be waiting for the meetings between AFC and representatives of its member associations from the West Zone on March 7 and 8 before making an official announcement.

Earlier, a meeting of the East Zone representatives was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 2, as the AFC continues to manage the worldwide impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Some AFC Champions League matches have been rescheduled, as well as the two-legged Women’s Olympic Qualifying Final Round play-off between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and China, which was originally scheduled to take place on March 6 and 11.

For Vietnam’s national team, coach Park Hang-seo’s side are scheduled to play their remaining three Group G matches under the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers against Malaysia on March 31, Indonesia on June 4 and the UAE on June 9, respectively.

However, these matches are also likely to be rescheduled following the latest move from FIFA and AFC.

Currently, Vietnam are leading Group G with 11 points, followed by Malaysia (9), Thailand (8), UAE (6) and Indonesia (0). However, Park’s squad is severely damaged by injuries of some key players, including Hanoi FC’s defender Do Duy Manh, who has torn his ligament and will be absent for at least six months.

SC Heerenveen’s left back Doan Van Hau has also injured, while Park’s top choice goalie Dang Van Lam is struggling at Thai League’s side Muangthong United.

However, the postponement of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers may be an opportunity for the Vietnamese team to resolve their issues.

Head coach Park Hang-seo and his associates will soon finish medical isolation to get rid of Covid-19 infection risk after returning to Vietnam from their vacation in the RoK. The coach staff have set a plan to scout matches during the new V.League 1 season, which is due to kick off later today, to inspect the performance of Vietnamese players as well as search for new faces to strengthen the national team’s squad.