On the afternoon of November 18, President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Tran Quoc Tuan had a meeting and encouraged the U17 Vietnam team, which is in the process of focusing on preparing for Group C of the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers.
At the meeting, VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan shared many practical experiences to inspire young players. He emphasized that Vietnamese youth football is facing great development opportunities, but success only comes from hard work, competitive spirit and discipline in tactics.
The Chairman also cited the experiences from the international competition journey of the National teams, affirming that accumulating and competing internationally is an important foundation for moving towards long-term goals.
The VFF President highly appreciated the potential, physique and professional progress of the current U17 team, and affirmed that VFF will continue to invest heavily in youth training, creating maximum conditions for the team to have the best preparation before the qualifiers. He noted that the whole team should maintain confidence, not be afraid of opponents and strictly follow the coaching staff's training plan.
Head coach Cristiano Roland thanked VFF and VFF leaders, and said that the whole team had prepared carefully in terms of physical strength, tactics and spirit. He emphasized that the visit and direct encouragement from the VFF President are of special significance, adding motivation for the players to make more efforts in the upcoming decisive period.
Head of the delegation Luu Quang Dien Bien - Head of the Department of Football movement, Training and VFF member organizations - also said that the team always receives close attention from the President and VFF leaders, along with the coordination and support of functional departments. The coaching staff is committed to solidarity, dedication to work and competing with the whole team to achieve the best results in the qualifying round.
Before that, U17 Vietnam had a training trip in Japan, playing 3 friendly matches, winning 2-0 against U18 Imabari, drawing 1-1 with Matsuyama University and losing 1-2 to U18 Ehime. These matches help players accumulate international experience, experiment with tactics and improve their physical strength before the qualifying round.
Group C of the 2026 U17 Asian qualifiers has 6 teams including: U17 Vietnam, U17 Malaysia, U17 Singapore, U17 Hong Kong (China), U17 Northern Mariana Islands and U17 Macao (China).
U17 Vietnam will play the opening match against U17 Singapore on November 22 at PVF Stadium.
