U17 Vietnam and the World Cup dream

MINH PHONG |

The U17 World Cup door is wide open for teams, including those who are eager to play on the world stage like U17 Vietnam.

Golden opportunity for U17 Vietnam

In a very difficult group in the 2025 AFC U17 qualifiers, Vietnam U17 gradually overcame obstacles to win a ticket to the final round, as one of the 5 second-place teams with the best results (ranked 2nd, after China U17).

Against U17 Kyrgyzstan, coach Cristiano Roland and his team were held to a 0-0 draw, but the bright spot was that the players played confidently, dared to deploy and control the tempo of the match.

In the match against U17 Myanmar, patience and perseverance helped U17 Vietnam explode in the second half with 2 goals. Finally, when facing U17 Yemen, Viet Long and his teammates played calmly and confidently to ensure a 1-1 draw to secure a ticket to the next round.

In fact, U17 Vietnam has not had an impressive performance in the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers. However, the strong mentality, solid playing style and discipline in tactics are what the players who are only 15-16 years old have shown. Thanks to that, they have successfully won a ticket to the Asian finals next year - something that their senior U20 Vietnam players could not do a few months ago.

The achievements of U17 Vietnam have somewhat dispelled the gray color that has covered Vietnamese football over the past year, with negative results in the national team and U20 Vietnam. The ticket to Saudi Arabia also helps U17 Vietnam open up a new opportunity, which is to realize the World Cup dream for the first time in history.

The format and classification of the U17 Asian Cup finals are quite favorable for U17 Vietnam to reach the world's door. Accordingly, 8 out of 16 teams participating in the continental tournament will be selected by FIFA to participate in the U17 World Cup taking place in Qatar. This means that if they win 1 of the top 2 positions right from the group stage, U17 Vietnam will have a ticket to the World Cup.

A promising phase

Perhaps it was not until 2016 that U16 or U17 Vietnam was so close to the opportunity to participate in a World Cup. Compared to the "50-50" knockout match against Iran 8 years ago, the possibility of U17 Vietnam participating in the world arena is now more open and easier.

Starting with the classification of seed groups to arrange the group for the 2025 AFC U17 Finals. Although Vietnam U17 is in seed group 3 (due to poor performance in the previous tournament), they still have the right to expect a favorable group. Excluding the very strong group 1 teams such as Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Japan, coach Roland and his team can be optimistic about gaining points and competing for second place in the group with two of the same group such as Yemen, Thailand, Afghanistan (seed group 2) or Oman, UAE, DPRK (seed group 4).

Besides the great opportunity in the 2025 AFC U17 Finals, Vietnam U17 also has more expectations for a bright period after that, coming from FIFA's decision. Because, for 5 consecutive years from 2025 to 2029, the U17 World Cup will be held continuously with the goal of developing and creating conditions for young players.

This is a great motivation for the Vietnam Football Federation to focus and invest more in U17 - the first youth team at the national team level.

The U17 World Cup is not only a historic opportunity for young Vietnamese players to experience at least once in the next 5 years. It is also an opportunity and a lever for developing football countries like Vietnam to accelerate compared to the current cycle.

MINH PHONG
TIN LIÊN QUAN

U17 Vietnam is the bright spot of Vietnamese football

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U17 Vietnam is a rare team of Vietnamese football to complete the goal in 2024.

Vietnam U17 striker admits to feeling pressure

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Striker Tran Gia Bao shared that despite the pressure he has been under recently, he is very happy because he and the U17 Vietnam team won a ticket to the 2025 AFC U17 Championship finals.

Spectators cheer U17 Vietnam in the rain

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Hundreds of spectators at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho) braved the rain to give flowers to congratulate the U17 Vietnam team on winning a ticket to the 2025 U17 Asian Cup finals.

Scenario of U17 Indonesia winning ticket to continue like U17 Vietnam

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Indonesia U17 drew with Australia U17 in the final match of the qualifying round, thereby winning a ticket to the 2024 AFC U17 finals.

Coach Roland: U17 Vietnam deserves to pass the qualifying round

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Coach Cristiano Roland expressed his happiness and said that U17 Vietnam deserved to pass the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers.

Video of goals U17 Vietnam - U17 Yemen (1-1)

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Vietnam U17 team drew 1-1 with Yemen U17 in the final match of the 2025 AFC U17 qualifiers. Watch top sports on FPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn.

2025 AFC U17 Qualifiers Rankings: Vietnam U17 to attend Finals

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Final ranking of U17 Vietnam in Group I after 3 matches of the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers.

Temporarily suspended from work for teacher who beat first grade student

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Thanh Hoa - After the incident of a teacher beating a first grader, Bim Son town decided to temporarily suspend this teacher from work.

U17 Vietnam is the bright spot of Vietnamese football

HOÀNG HUÊ |

U17 Vietnam is a rare team of Vietnamese football to complete the goal in 2024.

Vietnam U17 striker admits to feeling pressure

HOÀNG HUÊ |

Striker Tran Gia Bao shared that despite the pressure he has been under recently, he is very happy because he and the U17 Vietnam team won a ticket to the 2025 AFC U17 Championship finals.

Spectators cheer U17 Vietnam in the rain

HOÀNG HUÊ |

Hundreds of spectators at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho) braved the rain to give flowers to congratulate the U17 Vietnam team on winning a ticket to the 2025 U17 Asian Cup finals.

Scenario of U17 Indonesia winning ticket to continue like U17 Vietnam

MINH PHONG |

Indonesia U17 drew with Australia U17 in the final match of the qualifying round, thereby winning a ticket to the 2024 AFC U17 finals.

Coach Roland: U17 Vietnam deserves to pass the qualifying round

Thanh Vũ |

Coach Cristiano Roland expressed his happiness and said that U17 Vietnam deserved to pass the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers.

Video of goals U17 Vietnam - U17 Yemen (1-1)

HOÀNG HUÊ (NGUỒN: FPT PLAY) |

Vietnam U17 team drew 1-1 with Yemen U17 in the final match of the 2025 AFC U17 qualifiers. Watch top sports on FPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn.

2025 AFC U17 Qualifiers Rankings: Vietnam U17 to attend Finals

Chi Trần |

Final ranking of U17 Vietnam in Group I after 3 matches of the 2025 U17 Asian qualifiers.