FIFA released a special ranking for Asia, Vietnam is in Pot 6
FIFA has released a special FIFA Ranking specifically for Asia on June 18 which will be used to determine the seeding for the draw
Hence, with 2 wins and 1 loose in last 3 matches of group G in UAE, Vietnam added 2,79 points. However, the gap to other teams in region is still big. Vietnam ranked 11th in total 12 teams who have qualified for the third round. Therefore, Vietnam and Lebanon are also in Pot 6.
According to the ranking, Japan and Iran are the first two Asian teams and are in Pot 1.
Australia and Korea Republic are in Pot 2 and Pot 3 consists of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Iraq and China are in Pot 4, while Oman and Syria dropped in Pot 5.
The 12 teams will be split into two groups of six in a home-and-away, round robin format. The winners and runners-up in each group (four total) will qualify directly for the World Cup Finals, while the third-placed teams will advance to a playoff, where they will play to determine which team will advance to the intercontinental playoff.
The third round draw will be conducted on 1 July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Games in the third round are scheduled to be played on the following match days: 2 September 2021, 7 September 2021, 7 October 2021, 12 October 2021, 11 November 2021, 16 November 2021, 27 January 2022, 1 February 2022, 24 March 2022 and 29 March 2022.
To prepare for the third round, VFF is developing different plans depending on the evolution of the epidemic. The most important is to have a solution to help the players practice and compete regularly to maintain their fitness and have the best performance.
Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan – VFF Vice President argued that after the drawing, VFF and coaching assistants will make the detail plan to have the best preparation. This is a difficult mission because the teams who join in this round all are strong teams. Through it, the team will have chance to improve the qualification of the team as well as each members.
