Vietnam's national futsal team have gathered with 20 players in Hồ Chí Minh City to prepare for the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG 2026), scheduled for Saudi Arabia from 11 to 21 December. The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) said Argentine coach Diego Giustozzi has mixed several young newcomers with experienced internationals, and the squad will play four friendlies in Kyrgyzstan and Russia in early November.
An early start and new faces
SGGP reported that the camp was originally due to open on 26 October, but Giustozzi asked the VFF to bring it forward by a week to give young players more time to settle. It is the team's fourth gathering of 2026, held at the Chánh Hưng ward futsal club arena.
Veteran goalkeepers Hồ Văn Ý and Phạm Văn Tú are joined by Nguyễn Quốc Giàu, born in 2009 and called up for earlier camps, and Đoàn Minh Quang, named best goalkeeper of the 2026 national championship after helping Sahako finish third. According to the VFF and Tuổi Trẻ, Huỳnh Văn Hoài, Nguyễn Trọng Kiên, Nguyễn Hoàng Quân, Bùi Đức Quyền, Trần Lê Bộ and Nguyễn Thạc Hiếu have little international experience.
Captain Nguyễn Mạnh Dũng misses out with a ligament injury picked up in the national championship, and winger Đinh Công Viên's injury has flared up again, so Triệu Xuân Linh has been called in. Per SGGP's club breakdown, Thái Sơn Nam TP.HCM and Thái Sơn Bắc supply eight players each, Sahako three and Tân Hiệp Hưng TP.HCM one.
The road to Saudi Arabia
The squad fly to Kyrgyzstan on 1 November and play the hosts on 3 and 5 November, then move to Russia on 6 November for matches on 8 and 10 November before returning home on 11 November. Players then represent their home provinces at the National Games in Hồ Chí Minh City from 20 to 29 November, before the team regroups for AIMAG.
Bongda+ stressed the quality of the opposition: Russia were futsal World Cup runners-up in 2016, and Kyrgyzstan beat Vietnam 3-2 in the play-off for the 2024 Futsal World Cup.
Bigger picture
SGGP said 12 teams will contest the men's futsal event at AIMAG, including hosts Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan. At the last edition in 2017, Vietnam reached the quarter-finals under Miguel Rodrigo. This year they reached the quarter-finals of the Asian futsal championship in February, finished third in Southeast Asia in April and were runners-up at the Continental Championship friendly tournament in August. SGGP describes the longer-term aim as qualifying for the 2028 Futsal World Cup.
What comes next
The team train in Hồ Chí Minh City until they leave for Kyrgyzstan on 1 November. Follow Vietnam's national sides on our Vietnam national teams page and more domestic futsal news, such as Thái Sơn Nam's youth side at the Đồng Tháp international tournament.