U17 Vietnam departed for Saudi Arabia in the early morning of May 1st to participate in the 2026 AFC U17 Championship finals. The whole team transited Doha (Qatar) before moving to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
It is expected that coach Cristiano Roland and his team will be present at the competition venue in the early afternoon of May 1 (Vietnam time).
Before leaving, U17 Vietnam completed the final training session at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. This is also the time when the coaching staff finalized the list of 23 official players to participate in the tournament.
Compared to the previous U17 Southeast Asian Championship, the number of registrations at the Asian finals decreased, forcing the team to reduce its forces.
Accordingly, the 4 players not on the final list include Ho Le Nguyen Chuong, Nguyen Quang Khoi, Quang Danh and Ta Dinh Phong. The coaching staff had a private exchange to encourage the players to continue to maintain training and be ready for the next training sessions.
The 2026 AFC U17 Championship gathers 16 teams divided into 4 groups. However, after the DPRK U17 team withdrew before the opening day, the tournament only has 15 participating teams left.
The Asian Football Confederation did not add a replacement team but adjusted the schedule in Group D when there were 3 remaining teams U17 Uzbekistan, U17 Australia and U17 India.
According to the competition format, 8 teams participating in the quarter-finals (first and second place in each group) will win the right to participate in the 2026 U17 World Cup with the host of the world tournament.
In the group stage, U17 Vietnam is in Group C with U17 Korea, U17 UAE and U17 Yemen. This is considered a highly competitive group when all 3 opponents possess physical strength and international experience.
According to the schedule, U17 Vietnam will meet U17 Yemen on May 7, face U17 South Korea on May 10 and close the group stage with a match against U17 UAE on May 14.
