On the afternoon of May 15, the U16 Vietnam team continued to have a training session at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. This is the team's fifth practice day since the gathering on May 10.
After a period of focusing on strengthening the physical foundation, head coach Cristiano Roland has begun to deploy in-depth tactical exercises to shape the playing style of his students, first of all preparing for the 2025 CFA Team China International U16 tournament, then towards the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers.
Before the training session, striker Nguyen Van Duong shared: "The emotions of returning to the national team jersey are still the same as in the early days. This is a great opportunity for me to continue to learn and improve myself".
Evaluating the upcoming international tournament in China, where the strongest opponents are Saudi Arabia, Australia, and China, the young striker of PVF affirmed that this is an important opportunity for Vietnamese youth football to accumulate experience.
"The participating teams are all top strong opponents on the continent. Playing with them will help us rub shoulders, learn and mature. The whole team is gradually getting used to the football philosophy of head coach Cristiano Roland.
The coach highly requires discipline and wants the players to play football naturally but within a strict tactical framework. We always try to follow the instructions of the coaching staff, while maximizing our individual abilities in the overall playing style," said Van Duong.
Talking about the goal in the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers, Van Duong emphasized: "We cannot predict anything yet, because we are very strong against any opponent. But the whole team will definitely try their best to achieve the best results".
According to the plan, the U16 Vietnam team will practice at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center until May 23.
After that, coach Cristiano Roland and his team will travel to China to participate in the 2025 CFA Team China U16 International Tournament.
