The Vietnam national football team () is the national football team represents Vietnam in senior men's international football and is governed by the Vietnam Football Federation.
Football was introduced to Vietnam by the French in the late 19th century during the colonial period, and the country's first recorded international match took place in Saigon on 16 January 1949. During the 20th century, political division led to the existence of two separate national teams. South Vietnam as the State of Vietnam and Republic of Vietnam, governed by the Vietnam Football Association, joined FIFA in 1952 and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954 before the country's division, and participated in tournaments such as the AFC Asian Cup. The North as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam only joined FIFA and the AFC in 1964 and mainly competed in friendly and solidarity tournaments with other communist nations. Following the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1975 (officially in 1976), the football associations merged into the Vietnam Football Federation. Because both North and South Vietnam were members of FIFA, results of their national teams are counted as part of the overall record of the Vietnam national team.
After reunification, Vietnam did not field a senior national team in international competitions for over a decade. The country made its return at the 1991 SEA Games, marking its reintegration into regional football. Since then, Vietnam has emerged as one of Southeast Asia's strongest sides, winning the ASEAN Championship four times (2008, 2018, 2024, 2026) and regularly competing at continental level. The team reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup in 2007, when it co-hosted the tournament, and again in 2019. In the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam advanced to the third round for the first time in 2022.
History Early history (1896–1949)
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 British 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 then-Republic of 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 Hong Kong national team.
A few months before Vietnam gained independence as a unified country within the framework of the French Union, 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 teams (1949–1975)
Two national football teams existed side by side from 1956 to 1975, during the period Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam (1954–75).
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 de facto fall of South Vietnam 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.
Meanwhile, the northern team was much less active than the South and tended to be closed. North Vietnam only joined FIFA and the AFC in 1964. Between 1956 and 1974 they often played against other communist states. Their first game was a 5–3 lost to China 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 1974. North and South regions ceased to exist when they were reunited in 1975 with the end of the Vietnam War, and the reunification was formalized in 1976 with the establishment of Socialist Republic. Because both North and South Vietnam were members of FIFA, historical results of their national teams are counted as part of the overall record of the Vietnam national team.
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, decimated sports in Vietnam as a whole. 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 National A1 League, 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.
Post-Vietnam War and redevelopment (1983–2006) The reunified Vietnam national football team played its first international match on 13 September 1983 against the Cambodia national team in Hanoi. The match was attended by FIFA President João Havelange, who was visiting Vietnam at the time to promote the development of football in the country. After the match, Vietnam did not play any official international football matches for the next eight years.
Reunified Vietnam began continuous participation in international football starting with the 1991 edition of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Manila, 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 defending UEFA Champions League winners Juventus to play 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.
Renaissance (2007–2009)
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.
Decline (2009–2014)