Vietnam's national team sees a brighter path to the World Cup following FIFA's latest official decision.

FIFA has formally passed a resolution to expand the Women's World Cup finals to 48 teams from 2031, creating a significant and never-before-seen chance for Vietnam's women's squad.

Women's World Cup expands to 48 teams, Vietnam's women have a clear chance to return to the global stage.

Accordingly, the tournament will expand from 32 to 48 teams, thereby balancing its scale with the men's World Cup – which has adopted the 48-team format since 2026. This is seen as an important step in the development of global women's football.

With this change, the Asian region is expected to gain a significant increase in slots. Currently, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has 6 direct berths plus 2 intercontinental playoff spots when the tournament has 32 teams. However, with the expansion to 48 teams, Asia's guaranteed slots could rise to approximately 8–10 places, creating a clear advantage for teams in the region, including Vietnam.

This is clearly a valuable opportunity for the Vietnamese women's team to reclaim a World Cup ticket after their first appearance at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. Previously, an early exit in the group stage of the Women's Asian Cup caused coach Mai Đức Chung and his team to miss the 2027 World Cup, despite considerable prospects at that time.

Notably, the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 will be the last time the Asian tournament serves as the direct qualifying round for the Women's World Cup. Starting from 2031, Asia will organize its own separate qualifying system, similar to men's football, likely consisting of multiple stages to select the best representatives.

The 2031 Women's World Cup is expected to be co-hosted by Mexico and the United States, with some matches also hosted by Costa Rica and Jamaica. This will be Mexico's first time hosting the Women's World Cup, joining the group of countries that have hosted both the men's and women's World Cups.

The expansion of the tournament scale is a natural consequence following the success of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, where the number of teams increased from 24 to 32. In the context of women's football's strong growth in recent years, FIFA's decision is expected to provide a major boost and open more doors for emerging teams like Vietnam.