The draw for the 33rd SEA Games football event held at noon on October 19 in Bangkok (Thailand) determined that U22 Vietnam will be in the same group as U22 Malaysia and U22 Laos. This is considered a fateful group when Vietnam and Malaysia have just attracted attention at the national team level in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Recently, Malaysian football has been involved in a scandal when FIFA accused it of illegally using 7 naturalized players in the match against Vietnam. Therefore, the reunion between the two youth teams at this SEA Games promises many dramas.
According to the assessment, the chance to continue for U22 Vietnam is quite wide as U22 Laos is not a strong opponent, while U22 Malaysia is in an unstable period. Meanwhile, host U22 Thailand is in Group A with U22 Cambodia and U23 Timor-Leste. Group C includes U22 Indonesia, U22 Myanmar, U22 Philippines and U22 Singapore.
The 33rd SEA Games men's football tournament will take place from December 3 to 18, with the group stage held at 3 locations: Bangkok, Songkhla and Chiang Mai. From the semi-finals, the matches will take place at Rajamangala Stadium (Bangkok). The tournament applies the U22 squad regulation (players born from January 1, 2003 onwards), there are no tickets for players over the age of majority. The top three teams and the second-placed teams with the best results will enter the semi-finals.
In the women's football event, the Vietnamese team fell into a difficult group with Myanmar, the Philippines and Malaysia, while Thailand was in Group A with weaker opponents such as Cambodia, Singapore and Indonesia.
