Untold stories
The journey to the throne of U17 Vietnam is highly appreciated by experts and fans. And if you look back at the preparation process of Mr. Roland's team, the fans are even more impressed.
Remember, the team only gathered for less than 2 weeks before entering the tournament. From the time of competing in the U17 Asian Cup qualifiers last year until before participating in the U17 Southeast Asian Championship, the young players originally did not have another gathering.
Besides, players born in 2009 are theoretically old enough to play in the National U19 tournament at the beginning of the year. But that tournament actually has a maximum age limit of 2007 and 2008, so 2009 players do not have many opportunities to compete.
Not competing, not rubbing shoulders much before gathering, but with determination and high effort, the "Young Golden Star Warriors" still showed strength in their playing style and efficiency against each opponent.
Another detail revealed by people in the coaching staff, before the semi-final match with U17 Australia, many players could not help but feel tense. The opponent is the defending champion of the tournament and also won all 3 group stage matches.
Witnessing his students nervous and pensive, coach Roland asked technicians to create a special diagram. In the professional meeting room before the match, Mr. Roland said loudly: "Come on, now is the time for me to announce the squad, strong! Goalkeeper: Cristiano Roland. Defenders include assistants...".
Laughter rose in the room. The 15--16 year old teenagers of U17 Vietnam therefore dispelled their worries. In the end, U17 Vietnam defeated the kangaroo team. U17 Australia also admitted that they lost to Vietnam because of their spirit, concentration and disciplined tactics.
Promising players
The success of U17 Vietnam is the effort of a whole team. Coach Roland read out the names of each person in the team, from the coaching staff to the players as a thank you.
At the time before awarding the championship cup, the Brazilian strategist told his students to keep their feet on the ground. Because before them is the challenge and goal to conquer. Those are 3 matches in the group stage of the AFC U17 Championship, deciding the ticket to the U17 World Cup.
Last year, Mr. Roland and his 2 current students Nguyen Luc and Van Duong missed the world tournament ticket just because they lacked... 1 point. The team drew all 3 matches against UAE, Japan and Australia. Therefore, in their return to the continental youth tournament, U17 Vietnam must try harder and be more determined.
In the journey towards that goal, some players are considered great hopes of U17 Vietnam.
Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc is one of them. After the title "Best Player" of the 2025 National U17 Championship, Nguyen Luc continued to be honored at the U17 Southeast Asian Championship. He contributed to 4 goals of U17 Vietnam, including a hat-trick against Timor Leste as well as a goal in the 2-1 victory over Australia in the semi-finals.
The second face is Nguyen Van Duong. The player of course 12 of PVF Center scored 6 goals at the 2026 U17 Southeast Asian Championship, including 2 goals in the final match against U17 Malaysia. In particular, Van Duong's left-footed finish from a narrow angle to increase the score to 2-0 at the end of the first half deserves to be one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament.
In 2024, Van Duong won the title of "Best Player" cum "Top Scorer" of the National U15 Championship. Also in that year, this young striker played in the National U15, National U17 and Asian U17 qualifiers.
Goalkeeper Ly Xuan Hoa is also being absolutely trusted by Mr. Roland. After 5 matches in the regional tournament, the young goalkeeper has only conceded 1 goal. This impressive achievement helped him be honored in the "Best Goalkeeper" category at U17 Southeast Asia 2026.
Throughout 6 matches from the group stage to the final, Xuan Hoa showed stable form and commendable bravery. The goalkeeper of U17 Vietnam only had to pick the ball out of the net once in the semi-final match against U17 Australia. This is also the most impressive defensive achievement of the tournament, when U17 Vietnam became the team with the fewest goals conceded.
There are still promising students in the U17 Vietnam squad that coach Roland coaches. Examples include Sy Bach, Quy Vuong, Anh Hao, Hoang Viet, Manh Cuong or Dang Khoa.
Everyone is determined to have another success, of Asian scale with their coach.
