On October 22, 4 teams including U17 Vietnam, U17 Yemen, U17 Kyrgyzstan and U17 Myanmar before the start of Group I of the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers.
On the host team U17 Vietnam, coach Cristiano Roland said: "We have prepared with 2 training sessions in China and Japan. With the support of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), we have the opportunity to prepare best for this tournament. This is not an easy group, the challenges are very difficult but the U17 Vietnam team will compete with all their might.
Group I is a difficult group, there is no difference in the quality of the teams. U17 Vietnam needs to do their best to have hope of moving on. I myself also have a lot of motivation to help my students improve."
The Brazilian coach shared that after 2 training trips, the U17 Vietnam team has improved a lot in terms of solidarity, the players are always ready to support each other. In Japan, without Gia Bao, the whole team still practiced and had the best preparation.
The whole team is aiming for a common goal to show fighting spirit and solidarity. Mr. Roland also hopes to receive the support of fans in the stands for the upcoming matches.
The first opponent of U17 Vietnam is U17 Kyrgyzstan, a highly rated team. Before the tournament, this team had 2 training sessions in Thailand and Vietnam to adapt to the climate and weather conditions.
Coach Igor Nikitin of Kyrgyzstan U17 said: "Football in Kyrgyzstan is very developed, so the players have the opportunity to watch the national team compete. Each victory of the team is a motivation for young players to strive, make efforts in the future and set the goal of wearing the national team jersey. Hopefully, Kyrgyzstan U17 will play well in this tournament as a springboard for the future."
Assessing the home team, Mr. Nikitin said: "U17 Vietnam has a big advantage not only in terms of field conditions but also in terms of audience. However, U17 Kyrgyzstan respects all opponents in this group. We will be determined to achieve the best results. The results of the U17 youth team are unpredictable, with many influencing factors such as psychology and external conditions, so we will do our best in the tournament."
Regarding Myanmar U17, coach Aung Zaw Myo said: "The recent training trip to Qatar helped us a lot. Vietnam U17 is a strong team, trained abroad. I was impressed with Vietnam's 1-0 victory over Japan at the Peace Cup."
Talking about his team, the captain of U17 Myanmar revealed: "At the U16 Southeast Asian tournament, the team was led by a Japanese coach, I played the role of assistant. The squad at that time was mainly students, there was little time to assemble the squad, leading to poor results. Since then, we have made changes in the system, tactics and personnel situation to aim for the best results in the U17 Asian qualifiers."
U17 Yemen is considered an unknown in Group I. Before the qualifying round, this team had a long training trip in Oman and Jordan. This is the basis for them to aim for good results in this year's tournament.
However, U17 Yemen is at a disadvantage in terms of geographical distance. They had difficulty traveling and arrived in Vietnam 3 days in advance. Coach Samer Mohammed Fadhi Saleh affirmed: "U17 Yemen will try our best to win a ticket to the final round for the first time. We have prepared carefully in terms of tactics and mentality to overcome the tournament.
We respect all the opponents in this group. All four teams are of equal level and there are very small differences. The results will be shown on the field. I wish all four teams good luck in the upcoming matches."
The matches in Group I of the 2025 AFC U17 qualifiers will start from October 23 at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho).
