The 2026 AFC U17 Championship finals are not only a race to win tickets to the U17 World Cup, but also open up great opportunities for young players to assert their names before international experts.
According to information from beIN SPORTS, it is expected that more than 130 scouts from many top world clubs will be present in Qatar during the U17 World Cup to monitor and find new talents.
Most of the tournament's matches are held concentrated in the Aspire area, creating favorable conditions for scouts to directly observe many teams and players in a short time.
With 48 participating teams, the 2026 U17 World Cup is considered one of the largest youth playgrounds ever.
To participate in this tournament, U17 Vietnam must first pass the 2026 AFC U17 Championship finals in Saudi Arabia. However, right before the opening day, the tournament had fluctuations when U17 DPRK withdrew.
The fact that a team does not participate makes AFC have to recalculate the organization plan as well as the method of considering achievements in the group stage. According to the format, 8 teams that reach the quarter-finals will win direct tickets to the U17 World Cup.
In addition, if host Qatar passes the group stage, Asia may be supplemented with an additional spot for the 3rd-placed team with the best results.
After U17 DPRK withdrew, Group D only has 3 teams including U17 Uzbekistan, U17 Australia and U17 India. Therefore, AFC is likely to have to adjust the scoring method between 3rd-placed teams to ensure fairness between groups of 3 teams and groups of 4 teams.
This is a factor directly affecting U17 Vietnam. Coach Cristiano Roland's team is in the same group as U17 Korea, U17 UAE and U17 Yemen. In the context that Korea is rated higher than the rest, the competition for second place in the group is predicted to be fierce.
If they cannot win a direct ticket to the quarter-finals, U17 Vietnam will have to hope for a spot for the 3rd-place team with good results. However, the possibility of AFC changing the scoring method after fluctuations in Group D may make this opportunity more unpredictable.
