The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has just held the draw ceremony for the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two seasons 2026-2027. Vietnamese football has two representatives participating, including Hanoi Police playing at the number 1 club playground in Asia, and The Cong Viettel participating in AFC Champions League Two.
At the draw ceremony, President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Tran Quoc Tuan attended as AFC Standing Committee Member and Chairman of the AFC Competition Committee.
According to this year's season format, teams continue to compete in the qualifying round but the number of matches is increased from 6 to 8. Each club plays 4 home matches and 4 away matches.
Hanoi Police is in the No. 4 seed group in the Eastern region. Therefore, the Vietnamese representative must face many strong teams in the seed groups above.
Notably, Hanoi Police will face all 5 representatives of Japan including Kashima Antlers, Vissel Kobe, Kyoto Sanga, Kashiwa Reysol and Gamba Osaka.
Among these, Hanoi Police hosted Kashima Antlers, Vissel Kobe and Kyoto Sanga at home, and also played away against Kashiwa Reysol and Gamba Osaka. Gamba Osaka is also a noteworthy opponent when they once defeated Al Nassr to win the AFC Champions League Two last season.
In addition to the Japanese team group, Hanoi Police also have to face Beijing FC and Shanghai Port of China along with Johor Darul Ta'zim of Malaysia.
This schedule is considered a big challenge for the Vietnamese representative when they have to face many experienced teams with high squad quality in the continental arena. In particular, having to meet all 5 representatives of Japan makes the journey of Hanoi Police even more difficult.
To prepare for the new season, Hanoi Police has made remarkable additions to the squad. The team recruited Kevin Pham Ba, David Henen, Damia Sabater and Frans Putros.
In which, Frans Putros just participated with the Iraqi national team in the 2026 World Cup. The presence of this center-back is expected to help the Hanoi Police defense increase experience when entering the continental arena.
With 8 matches in the qualifying round, Hanoi Police will have to maintain stability for a long time. Not only the quality of opponents, the continuous movement between countries also poses high requirements for fitness and team rotation ability.
Going deep in the AFC Champions League Elite will be a big challenge for Hanoi Police. The Vietnamese representative needs to maximize their home advantage, and at the same time strive to score points in away matches if they want to create opportunities to compete for a ticket to the next round.
In the AFC Champions League Two arena, The Cong Viettel is the remaining representative of Vietnamese football. The participation of the two clubs in top Asian club-level tournaments will create more opportunities for Vietnamese football to accumulate experience and improve competitiveness in the international arena.
