Vietnam national football team

The Vietnam national football team (Vietnamese: Đội tuyển bóng đá quốc gia Việt Nam) represents Vietnam in men's senior international association football and is controlled by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the governing body of football in Vietnam. The team's nickname is the Golden Star Warriors (Vietnamese: Những chiến binh sao vàng).
Association football was introduced to Vietnam by the French in the late 19th century during the French colonial period, and Vietnam played their first game in Saigon on 16 January 1949. However, because various conflicts occurred in the country in the 20th century, Vietnam was split into the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (representing the communist-controlled North) and the State of Vietnam, later the Republic of Vietnam (representing the capitalist-controlled South), beginning in 1949 and 1954. As a result, two national teams (one for the North and one for the South) existed simultaneously and were controlled by separate governing football bodies. While South Vietnam (past Vietnam) became a member of both International Association Football Federation (FIFA) in 1952 and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954, North Vietnam never held memberships in either. After North and South were unified into a single country in 1976, the separate governing bodies were combined into the Vietnam Football Federation. However, the current unified Vietnam also inherited South Vietnam's membership in FIFA, therefore Vietnamese team is considered a successor to the South Vietnamese team, while North Vietnamese team is considered a separate team for statistical purposes.
For the first years of its history, re-unified Vietnam experienced a prolonged international football hiatus and no senior national team matches were played between unification in 1976 and participation in the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) football tournament of 1991, which was for national teams but not U23 teams like today. The 1991 SEA tournament marked the re-integration of Vietnam into international football, with the senior Vietnam national team subsequently winning three ASEAN Championships and reaching the final round of FIFA World Cup qualification in 2022. Vietnam also reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup twice, in 2007 and 2019.
The introduction of football into Vietnam can be traced back to 1896, during the era of colonial French Cochinchina in the South. At first, the sport was only played among French civil servants, merchants, and soldiers. The French encouraged natives to play football and other introduced sports, partly to divert their interest from politics but also because of local enthusiasm. Football subsequently spread to the northern and central regions. On 20 July 1908, the newspaper Southern Luc Tan Van reported on a match between two local Vietnamese teams for the first time. A football guidebook published in 1925 by Vietnamese doctor Pham Van Tiec attracted interest among Vietnamese youth. By 1928, the Vietnamese had established the Annamite Sports Bureau and in the same year they sent a football team to compete in Singapore. More local football clubs then established in northern and southern Vietnam. However, it was not until after World War II that football clubs in the region started to become more organized.
Under French colonial rule, the French Indochina Football Federation hosted a few matches against other national teams, fielding a selection composed mainly of players from Saigon or the French Cochinchina football league. Notably, they faced the China in 1936 and 1948. In April 1947, the French Indochina Football Federation selection team went for a tour in British Hong Kong, and played against British Hong Kong national team.
Two months before independence accords, the earliest recognized international game of Vietnam was on 16 January 1949, in a 3-3 draw against South Korea in Saigon, French Cochinchina. This team would become South Vietnamese team following the political division of the country in 1954.
Two national football teams existed side by side from 1956 to 1975, during the period Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam (1954–76). The southern team appeared in a friendly in 1949 and participated in the first two AFC Asian Cup finals (1956 AFC Asian Cup and 1960 AFC Asian Cup) and earned two fourth-place finishes. They won the first Southeast Asian Games gold in 1959 in Bangkok (Thailand) as well as two times won silver medals and three times won bronze medals. South Vietnam reached quarter-finals of the Asian Games 1958 and fourth place of the Asian Games 1962. South Vietnam even qualified for the 1956 Summer Olympics after defeating Cambodia in both home and away matches but then refused to participate in the finals in Australia. The team also attempted to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, beating Thailand 1–0 to qualify for the classification matches. They ultimately lost their group opening matches by 4–0 to Japan and 1–0 to Hong Kong. The team played their last game in a 0-3 loss against Malaysia in March 1975 and as a result of the fall of Saigon later in April, the team was disbanded. Despite the fierce wars, they were still one of strongest teams in Southeast Asia. Before the division, South Vietnamese football association became a member of FIFA in 1952 and the AFC in 1954; therefore South Vietnam was more integrated than the North and South Vietnamese football association was treated by these bodies as the only legitimate Vietnamese one as South Vietnam claimed sovereignty over all of Vietnam from 1949 to 1975. Meanwhile, the northern team was much less active than the South and tended to be closed, North Vietnam was never a member of either AFC or FIFA. Between 1956 and 1966 they often played against other communist states. Their first game was a 5-3 loss to China PR under head coach Truong Tan Buu on 4 October 1956 and their played last game was a 3-2 win over Cuba. They participated in the first GANEFO (Games of the New Emerging Forces) competitions in Indonesia in 1962 and Cambodia in 1966. The team played their last game in 1970. North and South regions ceased to exist when they were de jure reunited into the Socialist Republic in 1976 following the end of the Vietnam War. Because South Vietnam was a member of FIFA (from 1952), the current unified Vietnam is classified as its successor by FIFA.
The development of football during this era for both Vietnams stagnated due to the coincident Vietnam War. Having been a significant football force in the region, Vietnam's reputation diminished. The conflict also greatly reduced Vietnamese footballing ability and weakened the country generally. Moreover, the subsequent Cambodian–Vietnamese War and Sino–Vietnamese War, combined with global sanctions against the country, depleted the nation's football team and turned Vietnam into one of the weakest teams in the world. For these reasons, Vietnamese football remains new and unknown to much of the rest of the world. Despite its long-standing history of football, Vietnam only rejoined the global football community in 1991.
Vietnam's professional football league, known as the All Vietnam Football Championship, was launched in 1980 to redevelop Vietnamese football after the war. In 1989, following the Đổi Mới reforms, a new football federation was formed. Most Vietnamese sports returned to the international stage. After three months of preparation, in August 1989, the First Congress of the new football federation took place in Hanoi, declaring the formation of the Vietnam Football Federation. Trịnh Ngọc Chữ, deputy minister of the General Department of Sports, was elected as the first president of VFF.
The reunified Vietnam national football team joined the international stage by participating in the 1991 edition of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in the Philippines. They have participated in every subsequent SEA Games tournament. Since 1994, Vietnam has consistently participated in qualification for the FIFA World Cup, and in qualification for the AFC Asian Cup (since 1996).
Vietnam participated for the first time as a unified nation in FIFA World Cup qualification during the 1994 World Cup campaign, having participated in the 1974 qualification as South Vietnam. The national side failed to qualify for the 1994 and 1998 tournaments with only one qualifying win in total.
In 1996, Vietnam finished third in the first (1996) ASEAN Football Federation championship (then known as the Tiger Cup). Vietnam hosted the second Tiger Cup in 1998, losing 1–0 to Singapore in the final. From 2000 to 2007, Vietnam strove to win the Southeast Asian trophy, but invariably failed. In 1996, Vietnam created international headlines by inviting Italian giant Juventus, the reigning 1995–96 UEFA Champions League champion, to play in a friendly match in Hanoi. Despite the 2-1 loss, the match was a watershed moment that boosted the development of football in the country.
Vietnam was the host of the 1999 Dunhill Cup, a friendly tournament for both senior and U-23 players. Because it was categorized as a mingled senior and U-23 competition, some national teams decided to use their senior reserve sides. In this competition, Vietnam performed promisingly. The highlight was a shock 1–0 win over Russia (then-1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996 participant); they also drew 2–2 with 1998 FIFA World Cup participant Iran, thereby topping the group. Vietnam was then eliminated in the semi-finals after a 4–1 defeat to China.
Vietnam's 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign had some bright moments, with the team winning three matches and drawing one, all played in Dammam. However, the losses against Saudi Arabia, meant that Vietnam did not qualify for the World Cup. The 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification was also unsuccessful, with Vietnam falling to South Korea and Oman, but managing to create a shock 1–0 win over 2002 FIFA World Cup's fourth-place-getter South Korea in Muscat, one of Vietnam's greatest football feats. The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification was a low point for Vietnam, with the team once again failing, losing to South Korea and Lebanon, and only finishing above Maldives on goal difference.
Vietnam hosted the 2007 AFC Asian Cup along with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, despite having failed to qualify for the Asian Cup since the 1990s. The team was ranked second lowest only after Malaysia, but Vietnam created a shock by defeating the UAE 2–0, drawing 1–1 with another Gulf team, Qatar, before losing 1–4 to defending champions Japan. Vietnam were the only Southeast Asian and host team to reach the quarter-finals, in which they lost to eventual champions Iraq 2–0. This marked the beginning of the first Vietnamese football upsurge.
Vietnam won their first AFF Championship title in 2008. They were placed in Group B with Thailand, Malaysia, and Laos. After losing to Thailand 2–0 in the opener, Vietnam defeated Malaysia 3–2 and Laos 4–0. In the semi-final, Vietnam held the defending champion Singapore to 0–0 at home before winning 1–0 away, making the final for the first time in 10 years. Vietnam met Thailand again in the final. They defeated Thailand 2-1 in the first leg in Thailand. Returning home, Vietnam salvaged a 1-1 draw by virtue of Lê Công Vinh's last-minute header, winning 3-2 on aggregate. This was the team's first international title since rejoining global football.
Vietnam almost managed a successful 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, performing well against Syria and Lebanon, as well as against China; but various shortcomings once again proved to be instrumental in denying Vietnam's qualification for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, as the team finished third with only a single 3–1 home win (over Lebanon) and two draws away to both Levant opponents Syria and Lebanon. Losing both matches against China, including the huge 6–1 loss in Hangzhou, Vietnam at least had the slight consolation of scoring a single goal in both games.
The period between 2009 and 2014 marked the decline of Vietnamese football. The team participated in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup qualifiers and 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers, but were unsuccessful, being eliminated at the first hurdle. The team lost 6–0 on aggregate against the United Arab Emirates in the first round of 2010 World Cup qualification. In the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam could only defeat Macau in the first round before being eliminated by Qatar in the second, while in the 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers, they lost five out of six matches and finished bottom of their group, which included the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Hong Kong. The defeat to Hong Kong at Mong Kok Stadium on 22 March 2013 was considered Vietnam's lowest point set in the 21st century.
Vietnam also failed to defend their continental title due to elimination by Malaysia in the 2010 AFF Championship semi-final. The 2012 AFF Championship also saw the team's worst performance in 8 years, as they were eliminated in the group stage with their only point coming from a 1–1 draw with Myanmar, while losing 3–1 to Thailand and 1–0 to the Philippines.
The Vietnamese national team witnessed significant changes under the tenure of Toshiya Miura, who took charge of Vietnam from 2014 to 2016. The Japanese coach was credited for rebuilding the national team after the failed 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification and had a significant impact on the improvement of the team's performances. One of the most renowned achievements of Miura's regime was with the youth team, which beat Iran at the 2014 Asian Games with an unexpected 4–1 score. Many of the young players nurtured by coach Miura were brought to the senior side, which performanced well in the 2014 AFF Championship. However, Vietnam failed to progress beyond the semi-finals after a shocking 4–2 home defeat to Malaysia, in spite of winning 2–1 away in the first leg. Vietnamese police had sought to investigate this match, but found no evidence of bribery or corruption, as stated in the findings of Swiss-based international supplier betting services Sportradar.
Miura led Vietnam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in a group with Thailand, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Iraq. Indonesia was later banned from participating by FIFA, relieving Vietnam of some pressure. The Golden Star Warriors began their campaign with a 1–1 draw with Iraq at home. However, two disappointing defeats to Thailand, away 1–0 and a humiliating 3–0 home loss, subjected the team to heavy criticism. Despite the sporadic improvement, Toshiya Miura was sacked by the VFF after the Olympic side's failure to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Under Nguyễn Hữu Thắng, Vietnam once again progressed to the semi-finals of the 2016 AFF Championship, but lost to Indonesia in another thrilling semi-final, being held 2–2 at home, having lost 2–1 away. The team's disappointment was relieved a little, as the Golden Star Warriors finished third in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification World Cup qualification group. The Vietnamese side managed two draws in their opening run against Afghanistan in Tajikistan and a goalless draw to Jordan in Ho Chi Minh City. However, the Olympic side was surprisingly eliminated in the group stage of the 2017 SEA Games, and Nguyễn Hữu Thắng was relieved from duty. The team faced a crisis of confidence as many fans stopped supporting the team. Interim coach Mai Đức Chung was appointed to help Vietnam in two crucial Asian Cup qualification matches against neighbouring Cambodia, in which he was able to replenish some of the team's lost spirit, beating Cambodia 2–1 away and giving them a 5–0 thrashing at home. These wins placed Vietnam in the top two for final qualification.
Park Hang-seo, former assistant to Guus Hiddink for South Korea at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, was appointed as the new coach of the Vietnam national team on 29 September 2017. His appointment came after an attempt to negotiate with Takashi Sekizuka was unsuccessful. Previously, the VFF had tried to contact Steve Sampson, but received no response.
Park's first match as coach of Vietnam was in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifications, where Vietnam defeated Cambodia at home 5–0 on 10 October 2017, followed by a 0–0 draw at home against Afghanistan on 14 November 2017. This allowed Vietnam to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, their first Asian Cup since 2007. Park himself, though, was criticized due to the team's unconvincing performance. However, the mood rapidly changed after Vietnam youth team's impressive showings in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship and 2018 Asian Games where Park Hang-seo was also the coach of the U-23 and Olympic team. With the same U-23 players, he formed the squad of the Vietnamese senior team in a dead-rubber 1–1 draw to Jordan in 2019 Asian Cup qualification, which both teams qualified together.
Park's first major tournament was the 2018 AFF Championship. Vietnam topped their group with wins against Laos (3–0), Malaysia (2–0) and Cambodia (3–0), as well as a 0–0 draw with Myanmar. In the semi-finals, they defeated the Philippines and advanced to face Malaysia again. The first leg at Bukit Jalil saw Vietnam lead by two goals, but let the Malayan tigers tie the score through Shahrul Saad and a free kick by Safawi Rasid. Still, an early goal from Nguyễn Anh Đức in the second leg was enough to win them the AFF Championship after 10 years with an unbeaten record. Nguyễn Quang Hải scored four goals and was voted the best player of the tournament.
It wasn't until the 2019 AFC Asian Cup that Vietnam truly began to gain international recognition. With the entire squad made up of mostly promising U-23 players, Vietnam had the youngest squad in the tournament. Being drawn into group D along with Iran, Iraq, and Yemen, Vietnam lost to Iraq 2–3 conceding a 90th-minute free kick from Ali Adnan and Iran 0–2 before beating Yemen 2–0 in their final group matches with goals coming from Nguyễn Quang Hải and Quế Ngọc Hải to seal Vietnam to become the last best third-place team qualifying for the round of 16. Then, they pulled up a shocking result by defeating Jordan in a penalty shootout, with Bùi Tiến Dũng scoring the decisive penalties which sent them to the quarter-finals. The win sent millions of Vietnamese into the streets for celebrations. In the quarter-finals, Vietnam played against Japan but failed to continue the success after their opponent was awarded a penalty kick which was decided through the video assistant referee (VAR), resulting in a 0–1 loss score by Ritsu Dōan until the final whistle was blown.
Vietnam was grouped in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying Second Round Group G with three other Southeast Asian rivals: Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, along with the United Arab Emirates. The Vietnamese started with a 0–0 away draw over Thailand before defeating Malaysia 1–0 at home and then achieved a 3–1 away win against Indonesia. In November 2019, Vietnam faced the United Arab Emirates on home soil with attempts to break a 12-year winless streak to the opponent. In spite of facing a struggle in the early minutes, a red card to the UAE gave the Vietnamese an advantage. They eventually managed to beat the Emirates 1–0. Then, Vietnam moved to a thrilling encounter against neighbour and fellow powerhouse Thailand at home, where both teams played in another goalless draw, in a match with a crucial Akinfeev-penalty like save by Đặng Văn Lâm and two disallowed Vietnamese goals, to foster Vietnam's top position in the Joint World Cup/Asian Cup qualifying Group G.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam was forced to play all their remaining qualifying second-round games in the United Arab Emirates. In this campaign, Vietnam suffered a great loss of key players, as the midfield soul Đỗ Hùng Dũng suffered from a severe injury in 2021 V.League 1 that caused him 6-months of recession, while best goalie Đặng Văn Lâm, due to an unexpected incident related to COVID-19 in his Japanese club Cerezo Osaka, could not come to the national team in Dubai, the key midfielder Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, after suffering an aggressive tackle from an Indonesian player in the 20th minute of the first match, had to miss the rest of the qualifying second round. Nevertheless, even with such a great loss, Vietnam's campaign in UAE was an astonishing success. Vietnam pounded Indonesia 4–0 and held on to a 2–1 win against Malaysia. On the last match day, Vietnam battled it out in a thrilling encounter against the hosts, UAE. After trailing 3–0, a late surge in the final 10 minutes brought 2 goals on the scoresheet for Vietnam, but it wasn't enough as the match ended 3–2 in favour of UAE. Despite losing however, with Australia defeating Jordan 1–0 in the decisive game of Group B and later Saudi Arabia beating Uzbekistan 3–0 in the decisive game of Group D, Vietnam officially claimed its ticket into the third and final round of the World Cup qualifiers for the first time ever, and automatic qualification to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China, after entering as one of the five best runner-ups, the second Southeast Asian nation after Thailand to achieve the feat.
In the third round, Vietnam was drawn into group B along with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, and Oman where Vietnam lost its first seven head-to-head matches. The team played its best in every match, but since the team suffered an injury crisis, which began in mid-August 2021, Vietnam was unable to achieve a single point after the first seven games, and was officially eliminated from the World Cup after a 0–4 loss against Australia in Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on 27 January 2022. However, just five days later, it became the first ever team from Southeast Asia to win a match in the final round of the World Cup qualifiers by beating China 3–1 at home on 1 February 2022, which coincided with the Lunar New Year's Day in Vietnam and China. The win was also the first-ever win from a Southeast Asian team ever and also the first-ever win against China in an official competitive match in 65 years, when Indonesia beat China 2–0 in the 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification. The team achieved another historical result in the last qualifying match with a 1–1 draw against host Japan in Saitama Stadium 2002 on 29 March marking the first time ever that Vietnam did not lose against Japan since its reintegration into international football. Nonetheless, Vietnam only earned 4 points in total after 10 matches of the third round (1 win, 1 draw, 8 losses) and finished bottom, losing against all teams in this round but ended up with a historic 3–1 win over China and a draw against Japan in the final match, which was still Vietnam's best ever run in World Cup qualification, massively influencing Vietnam's image as a potential, emerging footballing nation.
In October 2022, Park Hang-seo announced that he would leave his position as coach at the conclusion of the 2022 AFF Championship. In the tournament, Vietnam topped their group with victories against Laos, Malaysia, and Myanmar and a draw against Singapore. Vietnam beat Indonesia in the semi-final but lost 3-2 to Thailand in the final. Coach Park Hang-seo, is considered the most successful coach in Vietnam football history, with FIFA praising Vietnam's progress throughout his managerial career with the team. His achievements include the junior team success in the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship as Asian runners-up, the 2018 Asian Games in 4th place, Southeast Asian Games Gold Medal finishes in 2019 and 2021, as well as the senior team in the 2018 AFF Championship as champions, the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as top 8, and Vietnam's first time ever qualification to the final and 3rd round of the World Cup Qualifiers for Asia.
On 16 February 2023, VFF announced that Frenchman Philippe Troussier, who led South Africa and Japan to the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, had been appointed coach of the Vietnam national team and the under-23s. Troussier was officially presented on 27 February 2023, making him the first World Cup profile manager to lead the country. Troussier signed a contract that last until 31 July 2026, with an ambitious goal of taking Vietnam to the next FIFA World Cup in 2026, where the biggest men’s international football tournament plans to increase the number of participating teams to 48 from 32. Vietnam has never been to the World Cup and the furthest stages were only up to the AFC qualification third round previously under Park Hang-seo.
Before his debut with the national team, Philipe Troussier had led Vietnam’s Olympic side in the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where Vietnam finished with a bronze medal.
Vietnam started its 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification from the second round of the AFC, drawn in a group with Iraq, Philippines, and Indonesia. Troussier declared during a press conference that he wishes to call up more overseas Vietnamese players into the national teams to strengthen the team for the qualifiers. Later, Czech based Andrej Nguyen and Filip Nguyen were one the first overseas players to get called up under Troussier. In June 2023, Troussier made his debut with the Vietnamese national team with two friendly match wins against Hong Kong and Syria. After a series of six friendlies from 15 June to 17 October 2023 to prepare for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam ended up with three wins and three losses, including the 0–6 defeat against South Korea which was one of the biggest defeats in Vietnam's football history, as well as losses against China and Uzbekistan.
On 16 November 2023, Vietnam began its 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with a 2–0 away game win against the Philippines. A few days later, Vietnam suffered a 0–1 defeat against Iraq on home soil, conceding a goal in the last minute of the game. The first two qualifiers games saw Troussier renewing the team's starting lineup with several young players such as Phan Tuấn Tài, Võ Minh Trọng or Nguyễn Thái Sơn.
Vietnam qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and were grouped with Japan, Iraq, and Indonesia in Group D. At the dawn of the tournament, the team left with many doubts due to the absence of key players like Đặng Văn Lâm, Đoàn Văn Hậu, Quế Ngọc Hải or Nguyễn Tiến Linh due to injuries. The Golden Star Warriors were then forced to deal with a talented but inexperienced squad with an average age of 25. New hard blows were then added with the forfeit of Nguyễn Hoàng Đức, 2021 Vietnamese Golden Ball, who also failed to recover from his injury.
Vietnam came to the tournament with a team mostly constituted of players with little experience in international competitions. The team had a positive performance in the opening match, losing 2–4 to title contender Japan and leading 2–1 at one point during the game. However, Vietnam then lost 0–1 to direct competitor Indonesia and was soon eliminated from the group stage, marking their first defeat to Indonesia after 7 years. In the final group stage game against Iraq, Vietnam had a good start while leading 1–0 after the first half, but the team soon fell into a disadvantage position after Khuất Văn Khang was sent off. Iraq quickly led 2–1 before Nguyễn Quang Hải equalized in the 89th minute. In the last minute of the game, Iraq was awarded a penalty and converted it, ending the match as 2–3 lost for Vietnam, forcing them to leave the tournament with 0 points.
Continuing on with 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, Vietnam suffered further losses to Indonesia on 21 and 26 March with an aggregate score of 0–4, with the return leg, which ended 0–3, being the first defeat to the Garuda at home in 20 years. Following these performances, the VFF terminated Troussier's contract immediately through mutual consent. Under Troussier, Vietnam only won 4 out of 14 matches and suffered 7 defeats in a row.
Having already failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and only setting sights on the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, Kim Sang-sik was announced as Troussier's replacement on 3 May 2024. A month later, on 6 June, Kim made his debut as the head coach of Vietnam in the fifth match of Group F of the second round of the World Cup qualifiers, facing Southeast Asian fellow the Philippines and lead Vietnam to a 3–2 victory and thus ended their losing streak. Due to Indonesia's 2–0 victory over the Philippines, they finished third in the group, missing out on the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers with a direct berth to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, and entered the AFC Asian Cup final qualifiers instead. They later lost the final game to group leader Iraq.
Vietnam was drawn in Group B with Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos. The Vietnam national football team has had an outstanding performance in the 2024 ASEAN Championship, showcasing their talent and dedication throughout the competition. They began their campaign in the group stage with a 4–1 victory over Laos. The team later grabbed a late 1–0 win over Indonesia, a 1–1 draw against Philippines, and finished the phase with a dominant 5–0 win over Myanmar. The team conclded the group stage with a great record of three victories and one tie, allowing them to lead Group B with 10 points. This performance also led in a jump in their FIFA ranking, from the 116th to 114th place.
In the semi-finals, Vietnam met Singapore in a two-game tie. The first leg concluded in a 2–0 victory for Vietnam, with goals from Nguyễn Tiến Linh and Nguyễn Xuân Son. The second leg ended with a score of 3-1 for Vietnam, thereby Vietnam won the right to play in the final with a total score of 5-1 after two matches against Singapore. In the finals, Vietnam met Thailand in a two-game tie. The first leg concluded in a 2–1 victory for Vietnam, with two goals from Nguyễn Xuân Son. The second leg ended with a dramatic 3–2 victory for Vietnam, defeating Thailand with a total score of 5–3 after two matches, and Vietnam won the ASEAN Championship for the third time after more than six years of waiting.
Vietnam was drawn into Group F with two Southeast Asian teams: Malaysia and Laos, along with Nepal. They began their journey with a 5–0 victory over Laos.
Vietnam's current kit sponsor is Jogarbola. The contract started in January 2024. Vietnam was also previously sponsored by Adidas, Li-Ning, Nike, and Grand Sport. The traditional home colour for the Vietnamese team is all red with yellow trim and the away colour is all white with red trim ever since they started the contract with Nike. With Adidas, it was just red and white. Occasionally, the team wore blue and yellow jerseys.
The team has sponsors including: Acecook Vietnam, Yanmar, Honda, Sony, Sabeco Brewery, Coca-Cola, Vinamilk, Kao, Herbalife Nutrition, Trung Nguyên, Honda, Red Bull, VNPay, FPT Play, and VTVcab.
Unlike many national teams in the world, Vietnam is one of the few football teams to not feature their federation (VFF) logo, or logo that is styled from a national emblem/coat of arms such as Russia, Australia or Poland at their jersey, but rather the national flag. The few other FIFA members to feature the national flag include Palestine, North Korea, Switzerland, and Turkey, and currently is the only team to not feature the logo in Southeast Asia. The logo of VFF is used on the team's gear (hats, bags, masks, coats, captain's armband in friendly matches,...) and in products of multimedia for the team. However, in the 1998 AFF Championship, team Vietnam used the former VFF logo on their jersey officially.
Despite VFF unveiling a logo of a dragon for the national football team in 2017 (similar to the logo of an elephant for Thailand), it was not incorporated onto the national jersey due to negative reception from media and supporters. Furthermore, the dragon logo was intended only for the men's national team at first, which would be unreasonable if it was also incorporated into the national jerseys and the uniforms of other teams (women's teams, youth teams, futsal teams, beach soccer teams). Afterwards, it was removed.
The VFF's media outlets officially use the nickname Những chiến binh sao vàng (English: Golden Star Warriors) for the national team, which is derived from the star of the national flag on the team's jersey. The local media in Vietnam also refer to the national team as simply "Tuyển" (The selection). Another nickname, though not frequently used, is Rồng Vàng (English: Golden Dragons).
Vietnamese supporters are dubbed to be passionate, having had large celebrations over the team's achievements at senior and youth levels.
There are two major supporters' clubs for the national team, namely Vietnam Football Supporters (VFS, Vietnamese: Hội Cổ động viên Bóng đá Việt Nam) which was founded in 2014 and Vietnam Golden Stars (VGS, Vietnamese: Hội Cổ động viên Sao vàng Việt Nam) which was founded in 2017.
When the national team wins important matches, the streets are often overwhelmed by large Vietnamese crowds in an activity known as street storming, which features nationalist chants and the singing of nationalist songs. Vietnamese passionate supporters have been witnessed during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup when the team defeated the UAE 2–0 and later became the lone Southeast Asian side to sneak into the quarter-finals. During the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Vietnamese fans were euphoric in celebration after beating Jordan in the round of 16.
Even in smaller tournaments, Vietnamese fans are also noted for large celebrations, such as when Vietnam won the 2008 and 2018 AFF Championships; and the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship in which their team finished runners-up after losing the final against Uzbekistan.
The Vietnamese national team mainly plays at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi. Since the start of 2014, Vietnam has played its official home matches in 7 different stadiums with Thống Nhất Stadium, Thiên Trường Stadium, Lạch Tray Stadium and Việt Trì Stadium as secondary stadiums used.
As of 5 January 2025
Vietnam has rivalries with some Southeast Asian teams: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore. These rivalries are rooted in geographical proximity.
Thailand is often considered Vietnam's biggest rival in football within the Southeast Asian region. The matches between these two teams are always likened to the "El Clásico" of Southeast Asian football and are followed with much interest in both countries. Vietnam as South Vietnam first faced Thailand in 1956, then the two teams also faced each other at the 1959 Southeast Asian Games and Vietnam won the two matches, in the group stage and the final (Thailand was the host). Despite currently having the better overall record compared with Thailand with 23 wins, 11 draws, and 22 losses after 56 matches, Vietnam has generally poor results against Thailand since its reintegration into international football in 1991. After the match between the two teams in the 2024 LPBank Cup, Vietnam has faced Thailand in 29 matches at the national team level since 1991, winning only 3, drawing 9, and losing 17. Despite this, Vietnam, since reintegration into the world's football, is renowned for its performance of punching above the weight, often due to its ability to culminate surprise results despite disadvantages, while Thailand has struggled harder to do the same.
Vietnam's most memorable win against Thailand was in the final of the 2008 AFF Championship, when a 2–1 win in the first leg in Bangkok set them up for their first-ever title, which they secured after a 1–1 draw in Hanoi.
The rivalry stems from the strong competition between Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as the equal strength of the two teams during their matchups. Vietnam and Indonesia have faced each other in 38 matches, with Vietnam having the poorer record with 12 wins, 11 draws, and 16 losses. During the 20-year period from 1999 to 2019, Vietnam only drew and lost against Indonesia in official tournaments beginning after the 1–0 win over Indonesia in 1999 in the semi-finals of the 1999 SEA Games, lasting 12 matches, with seven draws and five losses. Finally, it ended on 15 October 2019 when Vietnam won 3–1 against Indonesia in their third match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification's second round in Bali. In the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, the two teams confronted in the group stage in a game that ended in a 1–0 victory for Indonesia, which qualify them to the round of 16 while Vietnam got eliminated. In the 2026 World Cup qualification Vietnam have suffered 2 conclusive defeated with Indonesia 0–1 away and 0–3 home, which later knocked Vietnam out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Similar to Indonesia, Malaysia was considered an equal regional football powerhouse on par with Vietnam. As South Vietnam, the Vietnamese side had a poorer performance, with only three wins, three draws and seven losses, during that time the Malaysians posed as a formidable side in Asia. Since the country's reunification, the rivalry continued when the two teams regularly faced off at regional tournaments like the AFF Championship or SEA Games. The matches between the two teams are marked by the tension between the players on the field and between the fans in the stands. Since 1991, Vietnam has overwhelmed in the head-to-head record against Malaysia with 14 wins, three draws, and only six losses. Vietnam has also been maintaining a series of unbeaten matches against Malaysia since 2014.
While Singapore was still a force in the AFF until 2012, the team was a big rival for Vietnam. They have faced each other in 41 matches, with Vietnam dominating with 23 wins, 13 draws, and 5 losses. However, in the period of just reintegrating with international football in 1991, Vietnam experienced, in the period from 1993 to 1998, a poorer head-to-head record against Singapore; especially when they lost the 1998 AFF Championship final. However, since 1998, Vietnam has been maintaining a series of unbeaten matches against Singapore to this day. Vietnam's winning matches in this period against Singapore has never exceeded 1 goal, and 6 out of the 12 matches are draws, although Vietnam did win in the remaining 6. Since Singapore's football decline and Vietnam's development in the mid-2010s, the matches between two teams also began to lose its importance.
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
As of 25 March 2025
The following 26 players were called up for the friendly match against Cambodia and the Asian Cup qualification match against Laos in March 2025.
Caps and goals updated as of 25 March 2025, after the match against Laos.
The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Hosts or co-hosts
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Hosts or co-hosts
Champions Runners-up Third place or semi-finalist Fourth place Hosts or co-hosts
Champions Runners-up Hosts or co-hosts
Gold medal Sliver medal Bronze medal Fourth place Hosts or co-hosts
Gold medal Sliver medal Bronze medal Fourth place Hosts or co-hosts
Gold medal Sliver medal Bronze medal Fourth place Hosts or co-hosts
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record
For North Vietnam head to head record, see here.