Viet Nam's men's football team will convene on September 2 for the qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup. — Photo vff.org.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam's men's football team will convene on September 2 in Ha Noi to prepare for the 2018 World Cup qualifying round, the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) has announced.

The Viet Nam team will have several days of practice before heading to Chinese Taipei for a match with them in Taipei Municipal Stadium on September 8.

Viet Nam will then meet Iraq on October 8 and Thailand on October 13 on their home turf.

The U23 squad will begin their training session on December 6 for the 2016 AFC U23 Championship in Qatar.

The team will have around four weeks to train before taking part in the event, which is scheduled to be held in January 12-30 next year. A total of 16 teams who qualified at the group rounds will play in the tournament.

As planned, the team will have two international friendly matches to warm up for the tournament.

Although the U23 team won only a bronze medal at the 28th SEA Games that concluded in Singapore on Tuesday, the team's Japanese coach will not be sacked, according to VFF chairman Le Hung Dung.

"VFF leaders support Miura to continue coaching both national and U23 teams of Viet Nam. We shouldn't run after achievements so hastily. With a clear orientation, I believe Miura can do many things for U23 Viet Nam in the next two years," said Dung.

Dung believes Viet Nam can earn a gold medal at the 29th Games to be held in Malaysia in 2017. — VNS