Before the afternoon training session on May 15 (local time) in Jeddah, the Brazilian strategist said that the whole team's spirit is very positive after the recent historic milestone.
After we won tickets to the quarter-finals and a place to participate in the U17 World Cup, the players are more confident and happy. That is very important. I always want them to maintain the spirit of responsibility and organization that they have shown in each match," coach Cristiano Roland shared.
In the quarter-finals, U17 Vietnam will rematch U17 Australia - the opponent who lost to coach Cristiano Roland's team with a score of 1-2 in the semi-finals of the 2026 U17 Southeast Asian Championship. However, the Brazilian coach assessed that the current opponent has changed a lot and will be a very big challenge.
We used to face them, but now they have made some changes and are a very strong team. The next match will be very difficult and requires us to play with the highest ability. Our task is to try our best," he said.
After completing the goal of winning a ticket to the World Cup, the U17 Vietnam coaching staff still continuously reminded the players to quickly regain focus for the next stage.
This is the first time you have won a ticket to the World Cup, so everything that happened at this tournament, especially the recent match, is very valuable lessons learned," coach Cristiano Roland said.
The Brazilian strategist emphasized that focus, organization and solidarity will continue to be key factors for U17 Vietnam in the knockout round.
“Opponents are all very strong. If we are not focused, do not organize well and do not maintain solidarity as a unified bloc, it will be very difficult,” he added.
Coach Cristiano Roland also affirmed that the goal of U17 Vietnam is to become more and more competitive after each match. "When we have the opportunity to go further, we will try our best," he emphasized.
In the afternoon training session on May 15, U17 Vietnam continued to complete the final preparations for the match against U17 Australia. The coaching staff prioritized exercises to help players balance their physical condition, recover physical strength and maintain positive spirit after a period of high density in the group stage.
According to the schedule, the quarter-final match between U17 Vietnam and U17 Australia takes place at 0:00 on May 17 (Vietnam time). According to the tournament regulations, if the two teams draw after 90 minutes of official play, the match will go straight to the 11m penalty shootout to determine the team to advance to the semi-finals.
