At the qualification, 42 teams will be divided into nine groups which are held in nine countries including Vietnam. The other eight hosting countries are North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

These teams will fight for 15 tickets to compete in the event’s final round. China qualified automatically to the final round as the hosts.

Vietnam are in No 2 seed group of the Southeast Asian region. They will have to meet one of five strong teams: Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia or Thailand.

“To host a group of the AFC U-23 event will help Vietnam have more chance to play in the event’s final round. It is also a chance for Vietnam to prepare for the 29^th Southeast Asian Games in August,” said Trần Quốc Tuấn, deputy chairman of the VFF.