Viet Nam drawn in Group B at AFF Cup 2022

The 2018 champions Viet Nam will face 2010 winners Malaysia, four-time champions Singapore, Myanmar and Laos in the group round.

Meanwhile defending champions Thailand will face runners-up Indonesia in Group A, along with the Philippines, Cambodia and the winners of the qualification round matches between Brunei and TimorLeste.

The qualification round matches are scheduled for November 5 and 15.

The competition will begin on December 20, 2022, to January 16, 2023, across the 10 ASEAN cities in a home-and-away format.

The top two teams of each group will proceed to the two-legged semi-finals taking place on January 6 and 10, 2023. The final matches will be on January 12 and 15, 2023.

"We are glad to have finalised the dates of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 and the official groupings for all the teams," AFF President Major General Khiev Sameth was quoted as saying.

"ASEAN fans will have much to look forward to following today's draw, with all the exciting matchups in the respective group matches. We are in for a thrilling and competitive tournament. I am confident that the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 will surpass all expectations, both on and off the field, and emerge as the best edition yet," he said at the draw which was held in Bangkok on August 30.

Thailand and Viet Nam are No 1 seeds of their group.

President of the Football Association of Thailand, Police General Somyot Poompanmoung, said, "The 2020 edition has been a very successful one for the Thai National Team and we are looking forward to defending the title later this year."

Meanwhile Thailand head coach Alexandré Polking believed that the home and away format for this year's tournament would be very nice for the fans especially. With the group stage games being played at home, it would give a different atmosphere and makes it more special than the previous edition.

Viet Nam Football Federation General Secretary Le Hoai Anh said the tournament would be at high quality because of the gap between teams has been narrowed in recent years.

"Việt Nam will have to prepare carefully for the tournament. No matter which team we will play, we must achieve the highest possible result," Anh said.

The national team of Viet Nam will be summoned for training on September 17.

Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will take part in an international friendly tournament during this time which is considered a warm-up for the regional cup.

Viet Nam will play Singapore on September 21 and India six days later./.