At the 2026 AFC U17 Championship finals, U17 Vietnam is in Group C with U17 Korea, U17 UAE and U17 Yemen. This is a highly competitive group when U17 Korea is considered the leading candidate for the top spot in the group and the remaining teams must compete fiercely for one of the top two positions.
U17 Vietnam's direct opponents in Group C are also U17 UAE and U17 Yemen. These are two teams with quite similar levels to the Southeast Asian representative, but their playing style is very difficult.
U17 UAE once drew 1-1 with U17 Vietnam at last year's Asian tournament, causing coach Cristiano Roland's team to miss a historic opportunity to win a ticket to the U17 World Cup. The West Asian representative is highly appreciated for their ball deployment speed and ability to change positions. Meanwhile, U17 Yemen is still a team with many unknowns. This team once drew with U17 Vietnam in the previous qualifiers and continues to maintain stable form with a winning streak in this year's qualifiers.
With U17 Vietnam, the current squad has also been significantly refreshed compared to the tournament 1 year ago. In addition to faces who have accumulated experience such as Nguyen Van Duong or Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc, most of the players belong to the generation born in 2009 and later.
According to the tournament regulations, the top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals and also win tickets to the U17 World Cup. In theory, second place in the group is a more feasible goal for coach Roland and his team. If U17 Korea maintains its position as the strongest candidate in the group, U17 Vietnam will have to compete directly with U17 UAE and U17 Yemen in 2 decisive matches.
In the U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, the team won all 3 matches, scored 30 goals and did not concede any goals. After that, U17 Vietnam continued to win the 2026 U17 Southeast Asian Championship with an unbeaten record, scoring 19 goals and conceding only 1 goal. More importantly, there is a change in coach Roland's approach to the match.
The draw with U17 UAE in Saudi Arabia last year is still a regrettable memory for Vietnamese youth football. At that time, U17 Vietnam took the lead but retreated deeply to defend and conceded a goal at the end of the match from a high ball situation. The 1-1 draw result left the team with only 3 points after 3 matches and stopped in the group stage. From that experience, the ability to maintain the game and take advantage of opportunities is the biggest priority of U17 Vietnam at this time. At the recent Southeast Asian tournament, Van Duong, Nguyen Luc, Sy Bach or Dai Nhan all showed better finishing ability. In addition to professional factors, this year's tournament regulations also open up more hope for third-placed teams. If the host of the U17 World Cup, Qatar, passes the Asian group stage, AFC will award more World Cup spots to the 3rd-placed team with the best results.
The most practical goal for U17 Vietnam is still to win the right to self-determination with a position in the top 2 of Group C. This journey is certainly not easy, but with the current professional foundation and experience accumulated through a number of tournaments, Mr. Roland's team has a basis to aim for their first appearance in the U17 World Cup arena.
