This is the second time in a series of 5 consecutive tournaments until 2029 that Qatar has been selected to organize a playground for top young talents in the world. The 2026 tournament continues to maintain an expanded format with 48 participating teams, similar to the previous tournament, thereby increasing the opportunity to participate for many football backgrounds.
Currently, 30 teams have qualified to participate, while the remaining slots will be determined through qualifying rounds in continents in the near future. The group stage draw is scheduled to take place on May 21 in Zurich (Switzerland).
In the most recent tournament, the 2025 U17 World Cup held in Doha attracted great attention from fans and experts. More than 197,000 spectators came to the stadium to watch the matches, while many scouts from top world clubs were also present to search for young talents. The matches were arranged to be concentrated in the Aspire area, creating favorable conditions for organization as well as helping players adapt to high competition density.
In the 2025 final, U17 Portugal won the championship after a 1-0 victory over U17 Austria at Khalifa International stadium. The tournament continues to affirm its role as an important launching pad for young players to step out onto the top playground.
Related to the Asian region, the 2026 AFC U17 Championship finals will take place in Saudi Arabia from May 5 to 23 with the participation of 16 teams. Eight teams in the quarterfinals, along with the host team, will win the right to participate in the 2026 U17 World Cup.
The Vietnam U17 team is in Group C with opponents U17 Korea, U17 UAE and U17 Yemen. This is considered a highly competitive group, requiring coach Cristiano Roland and his team to have careful preparation.
According to the schedule, U17 Vietnam will successively meet U17 Yemen (May 7th), U17 South Korea (May 10th) and U17 UAE (May 14th). The results of these matches will determine the team's chances of advancing, and at the same time open up the possibility of competing for a spot to participate in the 2026 U17 World Cup.
