King’s Cup 2019 is more than just a friendly tournament, if its bearing on other bigger tournaments is studied.
Vietnamese football’s great successes in 2018 and early 2019 have given them an advantage in World Cup 2022 qualifiers. They are now ranked 16th in Asia by FIFA, giving them a spot in seeding pot 2. If they can maintain this position until the World Cup qualification draws start, Vietnam has the chance of being grouped with equally strong or weaker opponents.
But Vietnam can lose this advantage if they put on a bad performance in King’s Cup 2019, which will take place from June 5 to 8, during FIFA’s international break. The results of King’s Cup 2019 will be counted in FIFA ranking points.
In the lates FIFA ranking, Vietnam is 98th overall and 16th in Asia with 1,227 points, followed by Palestine (1,224 points) and India (1,219 points). Since Palestine will not compete in any tournament during FIFA’s international break, the direct competition that can threaten Vietnam’s position in pot 2 is India, who are just six points behind Vietnam and also a participant in King’s Cup.
If Vietnam win one or two matches or lose two games (while India win one), Vietnam will retain its 16th rank in Asia. But if they lose both matches and India manage to win the King’s Cup, Vietnam will go down to 17th spot and fall into pot 3, which means they will face much stronger opponents in the World Cup qualifiers.
Here is how Vietnam can gain and lose FIFA ranking points in King’s Cup 2019. The calculation is based on the formula of FIFA, which is calculated from an algorithm and other additional factors such as penalty shootout and knockout rounds.
The opening match with Thailand:
In the second match, Vietnam face either India or Curaçao:
India, the main competition of Vietnam for the 16th position can achieve their purpose if they win the King’s Cup 2019 and Vietnam lose both matches.
The opening match with Curaçao:
The second match with either Vietnam or Thailand:
On the other hand, Vietnam can also move up to the 15th position of Jordan (1,229 points) if they can win the King’s Cup and Jordan lose one of their friendly matches against Slovakia and Indonesia.
The King’s Cup 2019 begins with the highly anticipated clash of two top teams of Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Thailand, while India and Curaçao go head to head in the other match. The broadcasting rights of the tournament has witnessed a significant rise in price to $300,000, six times higher than last year’s competition.
Vietnam’s Next Media said it has acquired the Vietnam broadcasting rights for the event and is finding a broadcaster for the country’s two matches. Vietnam will face hosts Thailand on June 5 at 7:45 p.m. while India will take on Curaçao at 3:30 p.m. (local time) the same day.
Winners of both matches will meet in the final on June 8, while the two eliminated teams will play a third place playoff match the same day. All four matches will take place in the northeastern province of Buriram in Thailand.
Source: Vnexpress