The key players selected by coach Cristiano Roland are still the faces that participated in the training session last May, competing in the 2025 CFA Team China international tournament, notably striker Nguyen Van Duong and midfielder Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc - two players who participated in the 2025 U17 Asian Cup finals.
Nguyen Van Duong is considered a promising striker having won the title of Best Player and Top Scorer of the 2024 National U15 Championship. Meanwhile, Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc is considered a mainstay of U17 Vietnam in the 2025 U17 Asian Cup finals and has just been honored as the Best Player of the 2025 National U17 Cup finals. In addition, goalkeeper Chu Ba Huan - who won the Best Goalkeeper award in this tournament - was also on the list of players.
According to the plan, the U17 Vietnam team will practice at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center before going to Japan for training from November 5. Here, the team is expected to play three friendly matches with suitable opponents arranged by the Japan Football Federation. On November 16, coach Cristiano Roland and his team returned home to complete the final preparations for the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers.
According to the draw results, U17 Vietnam is in Group C with U17 Malaysia, U17 Singapore, U17 Hong Kong (China), U17 Macau (China) and U17 Northern Mariana Islands. The matches in Group C will be held on two courts: Vietnam Youth Football Training Center and PVF Youth Football Training Center from November 22 to 30, 2025.
The 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers have 38 participating teams, divided into 7 groups (3 groups have 6 teams, 4 groups have 5 teams). The top seven teams in each group qualified for the final round.
The final round will be held in Saudi Arabia in May 2026. The top eight teams will represent Asia in the 2026 U17 World Cup finals.
