Ho Chi Minh City, Jun 9 (IANS): Vietnam will host Group I of the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Championship qualification in July, the Vietnam Football Federation said.
Hosts Vietnam will clash with Timor-Leste, Macao of China and South Korea from July 19-23. Group I matches are expected to take place in Ho Chi Minh City, instead of Hanoi as earlier planned, reports Xinhua news agency.
Vietnam will send its national U-22 team to the AFC U-23 Championship qualification, as a preparation for its competing at the 2018 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games slated for August in Malaysia, the federation said on Thursday.
Forty teams will compete at the AFC U-23 Championship qualification. Sixteen squads will qualify to play in the final tournament, including China who have qualified automatically as hosts.