U17 Vietnam for the first time won a ticket to participate in the U17 World Cup after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2026 AFC U17 Championship.
After the draw ceremony took place on the evening of May 21, coach Cristiano Roland's team determined to be in Group G with U17 Mali, U17 Belgium and U17 New Zealand.
Sharing about the upcoming journey, the Brazilian coach said: "After the recent AFC U17 Championship, when watching the matches again, we feel there are still many things that need to be done better.
Time to come to the U17 World Cup is running out, the coaching staff will plan to prepare carefully so that the players have the best luggage to come to the 2026 U17 World Cup".
Looking back at the process of accompanying the team, from the U17 Southeast Asian championship to the U17 Asian quarter-finals, coach Roland highly appreciates the potential of the current generation of players.
I feel that this is a generation of players with very high individual quality right from the start of training. To achieve the goal, one individual shining is not enough, but we must aim to play in a team spirit," coach Cristiano Roland emphasized.
U17 Vietnam's group stage at the 2026 U17 World Cup finals is considered highly competitive with the participation of representatives from Africa, Europe and Oceania.
However, coach Roland affirmed: "The goal of each tournament when we participate is always to go as far as possible. I hope my players have prepared and the spirit to overcome difficulties in all matches so that fans can feel proud of watching and cheering for the team.
Among the opponents in the same group, U17 Belgium is considered a strong representative of European football with a modern technical foundation and tactical thinking. Meanwhile, U17 Mali is in the No. 1 seed group before the draw and continues to affirm the position of African youth football in world tournaments.
The 2026 AFC U17 Championship is still ongoing and U17 Mali has won 5 points after the group stage to rank second in the group, thereby winning the right to enter the knockout round against U17 Senegal. This will also be an important basis for coach Cristiano Roland and the coaching staff to study and evaluate the opponent's expertise.
The remaining team of Group G is U17 New Zealand – the reigning U17 Oceania 2026 champion after a 2-0 victory over U17 New Caledonia in the regional final.
The 2026 U17 World Cup finals will take place from November 19 to December 13, 2026 with the participation of 48 teams.
