The Vietnamese national U20 female team at a training session in Japan. Photo VFF

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam national U20 female team are ready for the 2024 AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup’s second qualifying round, which will be held in Việt Trì City in Phú Thọ Province early next month.

Việt Nam, who topped Group F of the event’s first qualifying round, will compete in Group A with Australia, Iran and Lebanon in the second qualifier.

“Việt Nam’s opponents are all strong," coach Akira Ijiri said. "Australia are the strongest, but Iran and Lebanon in recent years are also very strong. It's going to be a tough qualifier. However, Việt Nam are ready to compete well at the event."

To prepare for the AFC event, Việt Nam had an intensive training trip in Japan, where they had three friendly matches with Seisa Academy, JFA Fukushima Academy and Tokyo High School.

According to coach Ijiri, this training was a valuable experience, helping young players make great professional progress in terms of skills, speed and strength.

Việt Nam team will be present in Phú Thọ on May 28 to continue practising for the tournament.

According to the schedule, the hosts Việt Nam will meet Iran, Lebanon and Australia on June 3, 5, and 7, respectively at 7.00pm.

In the second qualifying round, the teams will compete in a round-robin. The top two teams in each group, along with the top three teams from last season, including Japan, South Korea, North Korea and host Uzbekistan, will compete in the final round next year.

The organisers will hold a press conference of Group A on June 2 at Sài Gòn Phú Thọ Hotel in Việt Trì City.

The Australian team will be in Việt Nam on May 27 for a short training session at the PVF – Youth Football Training Centre in Hưng Yên Province before moving to Việt Trì on June 1 to participate in the tournament.

While the members of the referee team, supervisors, and Iranian and Lebanese squads will come to Việt Nam on May 31.

Tickets are free for the fans to support the teams. VNS