Vietnam has been placed in Group A of the Suzuki Cup ASEAN Football Federation after a draw in Hanoi on August 5.
Co-host Vietnam will compete against the Philippines, Indonesia and the runners-up of the qualification round.
Group B consists of Thailand, Malaysia, defending champions and co-host Singapore and the winner of the qualification round.
The
qualifying round will take place in mid-October in Laos with five
participants – Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Timor Leste. The two
best teams will advance to the finals.
The group’s final round is scheduled a month later between November 22 and 29 in Hanoi and Singapore.
Teams
will compete in the round robin format with two top-placed teams
entering the semi-finals, which together with the final match, will be
organised on the home and away field format from December 6 to 12.
Speaking
after the draw, Vietnam’s coach Toshiya Miura said although local media
appeared optimistic about the outcome of the draw for his team, he
himself thought that appearances could be deceptive.
“Vietnam,
which was in the same situation two years ago, did not qualify in the
last Suzuki Cup,” he said adding that no one could predict the future.
In 2012, Vietnam had Thailand, Philippines and Myanmar in their group, but failed to make the knock-out round.
Teams
in the region are on the same level, so each team is as tough as the
other, Toshiya Miura said. However, Vietnam used to be the champions, so
he had set a target to win again.
In the history of the biennial
tournament which started in 1996, Singapore has been the most
successful team with four titles in the bag. The Thais come second,
taking the prestigious trophy in 1996, 2000 and 2002.
Vietnam and Malaysia have won one each, in 2008 and 2010, respectively.
The
winners of the 2014 tournament will earn 200,000 USD. The runners-up
will take home 75,000 USD, while the two third-placed teams will receive
50,000 USD each.
In preparation for the Cup, Vietnamese players
will get together on August 22 for a friendly match against the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea team on September 1 before taking
part in a training course in Japan.-VNA