Vietnamese football has more opportunities in the AFC Champions League
AFC has a scale based on the achievements of the clubs participating in the AFC Cup, AFC Champions League, to allocate quotas for the tournaments next year. Achievements are considered 2 times a year based on the accumulated scores from the teams. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Vietnamese football will have 1 team participating in the group stage of the AFC Champions League and 2 teams participating in the group stage of the AFC Cup.
This year, the two representatives of Vietnam, Hanoi and Saigon, will not be able to compete in the group stage of the 2021 AFC Cup in Southeast Asia, due to the cancellation of the event. Therefore, Viettel's achievements in the AFC Champions League 2021 have a great influence on the club-level rankings of Vietnamese football.
After 6 group stage matches, Viettel has 4 losses and 2 wins - all against Kaya FC-Iloilo (Philippines). This result helps Vietnamese football earn an additional 6,000 points, thereby having a total of 20,018 points on the AFC club rankings. Vietnam is currently ranked 5th in the Eastern region after Japan, Korea, China and Thailand.
That means Vietnamese football will have 1 place in the group stage of the AFC Champions League and 2 places in the play-off since the 2023 season. In case they do not pass the play-off round, the two Vietnamese teams will not be able to participate in the AFC Cup.
Having an additional chance to participate in the number 1 continental tournament from the 2023 season is a very good sign for Vietnamese football. It is the basis for clubs to complete the standardization of their teams according to the requirements of the Asian Football Confederation, investing in depth to be able to compete with the strongest teams in the continent. The growth and development of clubs is a premise to promote the Vietnamese team when participating in international tournaments.
Dusit's old club makes history
Thailand has proven that they are still the most developed football team in Southeast Asia. In the 2021 AFC Champions League group stage, there were a total of 7 Southeast Asian clubs participating, but 6 of them were eliminated, including Vietnam's Viettel. BG Pathum United is the only representative of the region to have passed the group stage, participating in the knockout stage.
Pathum United is the champion of Thailand in the 2020-2021 season with a record of only losing 1/30 matches. Former Hoang Anh Gia Lai player - Dusit Chalermsan was the one who helped the team achieve the feat of winning the double championship in just 2 years. However, he was forced to leave the team due to graduation problems.
Australian coach Aurelio Vidmar was given the opportunity to sit in the hot seat. Initially, he affirmed his talent when helping the team pass the group stage of the AFC Champions League in his first participation. They won 12/18 points in the group stage, won all 4 matches against Viettel, Kaya and lost only 2 matches against defending champion Ulsan Hyundai.
Pathum United is a very ambitious team when building a full-back squad. Regarding domestic players, most of the team's players have played for the Thai national team. As for foreign players, they also use very high-quality players, such as Diogo - the striker who won the Copa Libertador with Neymar or Andres Tunez - the center back who played for Celta Vigo in Spain.
In the round of 16, the Thai team will meet Jeonbuk Hyundai, a team that has won the AFC Champions League in Korea twice. The challenge for Pathum United is huge but they are ready to make a surprise.
