Pre-match information
After a convincing 4-1 victory over New Zealand in the second match, the Vietnamese futsal team entered the confrontation with Afghanistan with the goal of extending their impressive streak at the 2026 Thailand Asian Championship Friendly Tournament.
Coach Diego Raul Giustozzi's team is having a positive start when drawing 2-2 with the Russian futsal team in the opening match before overcoming New Zealand. With 4 points after two legs, the Vietnamese futsal team is temporarily ranked second in the rankings and still has a chance to compete for the top spot.
In the match against New Zealand, the Vietnam futsal team controlled the game for most of the time. Cong Dai opened the score in the first half, before Chau Doan Phat, Nguyen Thinh Phat and Tran Thai Huy scored in turn, bringing a 4-1 victory for the home team.
The past two matches have also shown the effectiveness in the operation of the Vietnamese futsal team's playing style. Besides the ability to organize tight defense, the players also created many diverse attacking options and made good use of opportunities against quality opponents.
Assessing the goals at the tournament, coach Diego Raul Giustozzi affirmed that the team always aims for victory, but the biggest priority is still to test the force and improve the playing style.
The Argentine strategist said he wants experienced players to promote their leadership role, while creating conditions for young faces to express themselves and accumulate international competition experience.
The 2026 Thailand Continental Championship friendly tournament gathers 5 teams including host Thailand, Russia, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Vietnam. The teams compete in a single round-robin format to determine the overall ranking.
The opponent of the Vietnamese futsal team in this match is Afghanistan. The Central Asian team has only played one match and lost to host Thailand with a score of 1-6. However, Afghanistan is still considered a physically strong opponent with a lot of experience in the Asian arena.
Against Afghanistan, the Vietnamese futsal team is expected to continue to maintain high form, aiming for a second consecutive victory to create an advantage in the race to win a high position at the 2026 Thailand AFC U23 Championship.
