AFC makes another change, making Vietnam's path to the World Cup even more difficult.

A few days ago, the American news agency ESPN revealed information about the AFC's plan to comprehensively reform the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying tournament systems. As a result, the goals of the Vietnamese national team will be affected to some extent.

There will be a "pilot AFC Nations League" tournament.

Simply put, instead of traditional qualifying rounds, the governing body of Asian football has officially established the AFC Nations League system (modeled after UEFA) to determine qualification spots for major tournaments.

And recently, the ASEAN Football news site officially published detailed information about the AFC's plan. It's worth noting that this is a Malaysian news site, where the AFC's headquarters are located, and it consistently provides accurate information about decisions made by Asia's leading football governing body.

According to ASEAN Football, the 2030 World Cup qualifying phase will temporarily remain similar to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers – assuming the next World Cup retains its 48-team format (AFC will make adjustments if FIFA increases it to 64 teams).

Accordingly, the 2030 World Cup qualifying phase will still be divided into three stages. The top 26 teams in Asia, according to FIFA rankings, will not participate in the first qualifying stage.

The remaining teams will compete in Round 1, with the top 10 teams advancing to Round 2 – which will consist of 36 teams. Round 2 will select 18 teams to proceed to Round 3.

In the third qualifying round, 18 teams are divided into 3 groups of 6 teams each. The top 6 teams from each group will secure the first 6 World Cup spots. The 3rd-placed teams from each group and the best-performing 4th-placed team will play in a play-off round to determine the final 2 automatic qualification spots – based on the current allocation of 8 automatic World Cup spots by FIFA to the AFC.

The distinguishing feature of the 2030 World Cup qualifiers will be a "pilot AFC Nations League" season in 2028-2029, running concurrently with the third round of World Cup qualifiers.

Not a single match can be missed.

Teams that don't qualify for the third round will participate in this "pilot" tournament. And this tournament isn't just for show; it's crucial in determining another complex factor: the coefficient points for ranking the first official AFC Nations League, starting in the 2030-2031 season.

As Tuoi Tre newspaper previously reported, the AFC Nations League will be divided into three tiers, with Tier 1 comprising the 18 strongest teams in Asia.

The ranking of the teams will be based on the total points from the entire 2030 World Cup qualifying period, as well as the aforementioned "AFC Nations League pilot program". The AFC has not yet announced the detailed scoring method, but it is important to understand that teams will have to perform their best in every competition to be included in the higher-ranked groups.

And only the top-tier AFC Nations League teams can compete for direct qualification to the 2034 World Cup. That's a crucial issue that every footballing nation is concerned about.

With such a complex format, the Vietnamese team will embark on an extremely challenging journey, with every match – regardless of the level – being crucial in the race towards the World Cup.

According to ASEAN Football, the AFC has sent the draft plan to its member football federations, and a final organizational plan may be decided soon.