Vietnam futsal team defeat Lebanon to secure a spot at the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup
With a 4-0 victory over Lebanon in the final match of Group E, the Vietnam futsal team wrapped up the qualifiers with a perfect winning record and booked their place at the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup as group leaders. This marks the fourth Vietnamese national team this year to secure qualification for an AFC Asian Cup 2026 final tournament.
A draw would have been enough to secure qualification, but the Vietnam futsal team entered the match determined to take all three points. Coach Diego Giustozzi’s players pushed the tempo right from the opening whistle, applying relentless pressure that caused problems for Lebanon, whose physical strength is not their strong suit.
Right from the opening minutes, goalkeeper Karim Joeuidi was forced to make a series of saves from Minh Quang and Gia Hung’s attempts. However, the heavy pressure from the men in red soon forced Lebanon into mistakes. In the 9th minute, Manh Dung intercepted the ball and set up Da Hai to finish and open the scoring.
Less than a minute later, Cong Vien laid the ball back for Manh Dung, who fired a low shot to double the lead to 2-0. The momentum continued in the 10th minute when Ngoc Anh dispossessed an opponent and set up Minh Quang to score, giving Vietnam a 3-0 advantage. Despite missing a few chances towards the end of the first half, Coach Giustozzi’s men maintained their dominance on the court.
In the second half, Vietnam’s advantage grew when Lebanon’s Hassan Alame was shown a straight red card in the 24th minute. Just 15 seconds into the power play, Ngoc Anh capitalized to seal a 4-0 victory. In the remaining minutes, Lebanon were hardly able to mount any significant pressure on goalkeeper Van Tu’s goal.
Wrapping up the qualifiers, the Vietnam futsal team secured a perfect nine points from three wins, finishing top of Group E and officially booking their place at the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup, which will be held in Indonesia from January 27 to February 7, 2026.
The national futsal team is the fourth Vietnamese squad to qualify for an AFC Asian Cup 2026 final tournament. Earlier, the senior women’s national team, the U23 men’s national team, and the U20 women’s national team had all successfully advanced through their respective qualifiers to earn spots at the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, AFC U23 Asian Cup, and AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup.