The Vietnamese national football team will fly to Myanmar from December 2-4, a week later than previously planned after the Philippines announced their withdrawal from the 27th Southeast Asian Games.

With the official confirmation from the Philippines, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) has modified the competition schedule of men’s football in group A which is now comprised of five teams instead of six.

The competition for group A will start on Dec.8 instead of Dec.2. Vietnam was drawn to take on Brunei and Singapore on Dec.8 and 10 before playing Laos on Dec.15 and Malaysia on Dec.17.

To prepare for the tournament in Myanmar from Dec.11-22, Vietnam will have three friendly games with the V-League teams of Long An, An Giang, and Ho Chi Minh City before leaving for Naypyitaw, Myanmar.

“The new competition schedule is better for Vietnam because we won’t have to face the strong teams first,” said Vietnam’s coach Hoang Van Phuc. “Whatever the draw, we will try our best at the event.”

The five teams of group B, including Thailand, Laos, Timor Leste, and defending champion Malaysia, will compete in Yangon.