On February 12, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held a draw ceremony for the 2026 AFC U17 Championship finals. Accordingly, the Vietnam U17 team fell into Group C with opponents U17 Korea, U17 UAE and U17 Yemen.
This is considered a highly competitive group. U17 Korea is one of the leading youth football nations in the continent, while U17 UAE and U17 Yemen both possess a physically strong and very difficult playing style.
Being in the same group as South Korea makes U17 Vietnam's journey predicted to be challenging. The East Asian representative regularly contributes deeply in tournaments and has stable achievements in the continental youth playground.
Meanwhile, the UAE is also an experienced team, having participated in the finals many times and having systematic investment in youth training. Yemen, although not rated as highly as the other two opponents, always plays determinedly and is ready to create surprises.
The 2026 AFC U17 Championship will take place in Saudi Arabia from May 7 to May 24 with the participation of 16 teams.
The teams compete in a round-robin format in the group stage to select 8 outstanding names to the quarter-finals, and at the same time win tickets to the FIFA U17 World Cup 2026. Therefore, each match in the group stage is of great significance.
Before entering the final round, U17 Vietnam showed impressive form in the qualifying round when they won all 3 matches, scored many goals and did not concede any goals.
The above achievement helps the team win the top spot in the group and create positive psychological momentum. However, the draw results show that the coaching staff and players will have to prepare carefully if they want to compete for a ticket to continue in Group C.
