Vietnam national team unexpectedly will not play during the June FIFA Days

VPF has officially announced the schedule for the second half of the V.League 2025/26 on their website, revealing notable adjustments in the final phase of the season.

The most remarkable change is the last 2 rounds, which have traditionally been held at 5:00 PM, will be postponed to 6:00 PM this season. Besides the time change, VPF has also set the dates for these final two rounds on May 31 and June 7, 2026.

This alteration leads to an important consequence: the V.League 2025/26 will finish two weeks earlier to avoid clashing with the 2026 World Cup, the world’s biggest tournament officially starting on June 11, 2026, at the Azteca Stadium (Mexico City). This means the Vietnam national team is almost certain not to participate in international matches during the June FIFA Days (June 1-9, 2026).

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history with 48 teams competing across 16 cities in three countries: USA (11 venues), Mexico (3 venues), and Canada (2 venues). The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026, with the final expected to be held at MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey, USA). The total duration of matches will be 39 days, the longest ever.

After the 2026 World Cup concludes on July 19, Southeast Asian football will heat up with the 2026 AFF Cup. According to the tentative schedule, the tournament will take place from July 24 to August 26, 2026, specifically:

• Group stage: July 24 – August 8, 2026
• Semi-finals: August 15 – August 19, 2026
• Finals: August 23 and August 26, 2026

Therefore, from the end of the V.League 2025/26 (June 7, 2026) until the conclusion of the 2026 AFF Cup, Vietnamese clubs will have nearly a full three months of summer break to prepare for the new season. As a result, the V.League 2026/27 is expected to resume in September 2026.

It is not new for the Vietnam national team to skip international matches during FIFA Days. In September 2025, the team also missed official international friendlies and only played internal matches against two domestic clubs: Công An Hà Nội (September 4) and Nam Định (September 7).

At that time, coach Kim Sang Sik focused on leading the Vietnam U23 team in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers held in Việt Trì (Phú Thọ), while the senior team was managed by interim coach Đinh Hồng Vinh. While Vietnam only played internal matches, many regional rivals such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia utilized FIFA Days to play international friendlies, gaining FIFA points and improving their competitive level.