Group G matches will take place from May 31 to June 15 in the UAE. Vietnam is leading with 11 points, followed by Malaysia (9 points), Thailand (8 points). The host team UAE has 6 points, ranked 4th but has only played 4 matches, Indonesia is behind with no points.
"With teams having played 5 matches, except for the UAE, which has only played 4 matches, Group G with the participation of 4 Southeast Asian teams is still very open, promising to create attractive matches worth watching in the next 3 weeks," commented the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) homepage.
AFC emphasized that the gap between the top team in Vietnam and the 3rd best team in Thailand is only 3 points. The UAE is in 4th place with 6 points but has played 1 match less. If they defeat Malaysia in the opening match on June 3, the home team will rise to 2nd place and are only 2 points behind the Vietnam team.
According to the AFC, that will cause Group G of the Vietnamese team to have dramatic developments until the last minute. The match between the UAE and Vietnam on June 15 will likely be the decisive factor for the top spot in the group.
According to the schedule, the Vietnam team will play 3 matches against Indonesia (7.6), Malaysia (11.6) and the UAE (15.6). Two of the team's two games will be at the Al- maktoum in Dubai. According to AFC, the Vietnamese team has an advantage when they are used to Al- maktoum Stadium. At the 2019 Asian Cup, Mr. Park Hang-seo and his team played 2 consecutive matches at this stadium when they met Jordan in the round of 16 and Japan in the quarter-finals.
Among the players of the Vietnam team, AFC highly appreciated striker Nguyen Tien Linh, commenting: "If Vietnam wins the group and qualifies for the third qualifying round, they will definitely remember Tien Linh's goal against the UAE in November 2019, an important moment. In the context of veteran Nguyen Anh Duc being left out of the squad, Vietnam will rely heavily on Tien Linh".
