Ahead of the AFC U23 Championship 2020 finals draw, head coach Park Hang-seo said he hopes Vietnam won’t be in the same group with South Korea. U23 South Korea coach Kim Hak-bum recently expressed his expectation to see Vietnam face South Korea in the tournament.

“U23 Vietnam is the defending runner-up of AFC U23 Championship but it is not one of the strongest teams in Asia. The Vietnamese team is obviously weaker than South Korea. Mr. Kim said the encounter would be interesting but I don't think so,” Park told South Korean media.

Despite Vietnam’s notable progress, they are not the football giant that South Korea is. It was evident in the Asian Games. South Korea  is extremely tough ,” he added.

Runner-up Vietnam will be pooled in Pot 1 with the defending champs Uzbekistan,  second runner-up Qatar and hosts Thailand. South Korea is in Pot 2.

Despite the immediate advantages, Vietnam may later fall into a killer grouping, since 12 of thᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe reamaining teams are very strong . Park Hang-seo’s squad might be in the same group as South Korea.

The draw of AFC U23 Championship 2020 finals will be held at 3pm on Sept 26 in Thailand.