Vietnam drawn in Group D of the AFC U-23 finals Vietnam will join Australia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Jordan in a group-stage round robin tournament, with the top two performers to automatically advance to the knockout stage. Vietnam and Thailand are the only two representatives of the Southeast Asian region and are two of three teams, including Qatar, to debut in the tournament – the second edition of its kind following the first in 2013. Vietnam qualified for the finals as the third best runner-up of the qualification round held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia a few months ago, coming in second place in Group I with six points. As planned, Vietnam’s U-23 team will reconvene this December in preparation for the 2016 AFC U-23 finals, scheduled to take place in Qatar from January 12-30. The top three teams of the final stage will represent Asia to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (FOT Press Club - Thao Smile)