YOUNG GUNS: Players take part in the National U21 Football Championships 2025. Young players will be given more opportunities to play in tournaments as part of plans announced by the Việt Nam Football Federation. Photo courtesy of VFF

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) will be handing out more opportunities to young players as part of its long-term investment plan.

At its recent annual conference, it was announced that younger squads will be sent to more tournaments, starting with the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, where an under-21 squad will represent Việt Nam.

The congress believes that this will help young players sharpen their skills and provide ideal preparation for major tournaments in the future.

"We have agreed to send the U21 squad to the Asian Games (ASIAD) 2026 because in 2027 they will be old enough for the 34th SEA Games when Việt Nam will defend our title in Malaysia," said VFF Vice President Nguyễn Xuân Vũ.

"Almost all strong teams like Japan and South Korea have sent U20 squads to previous Asian Games to prepare for the bigger stage, the Olympics. For Vietnamese football, we also need to prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games.

"We must accept that the young squad might not achieve good results in the upcoming ASIAD, but our players will learn a lot when they face powerful rivals."

Vũ added that all these activities were for a future vision, as players born from 2005 onwards show great potential and if they receive long-term investment now, they would shine bright.

The VFF also reviewed plans for the new year, following a very successful 2025, during which it won three titles in both men's youth and senior teams in the regional arena, along with a SEA Games silver for the women's side and a SEA Games gold for the women's futsal squad.

In 2026, Việt Nam will take part in several events.

The AFC U23 Asian Cup will begin on January 6. Although Việt Nam will face strong rivals, the Southeast Asian representative is highly appreciated after past successes at the regional championship and the 33rd SEA Games.

In Saudi Arabia, Việt Nam will play Jordan on January 6, Kyrgyzstan on January 9, and the hosts three days later.

The Asian Cup 2027 qualifying matches will continue in March and Việt Nam will play Malaysia on March 26.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will likely ban Malaysia for fielding players with fake documents. Malaysia are expected to face a 0-3 defeat in all their matches using these illegal players. It means that Việt Nam will definitely qualify for the finals.

Another notable tournament is the ASEAN Cup 2026, which is scheduled in the summer from July 24 to August 26 and will feature 10 teams playing in a round robin format in the group games and home-and-away format in the knockout stages.

The ASIAD 2026 will be held in Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. The U21 squad will use the tournament to gain experience, while the women's squad will hope for a place in the quarter-finals.

The women's side will also take part in the Asian Championship in  March in Australia. Việt Nam will play India on March 4, Chinese Taipei on March 7, and powerhouse Japan on March 10.

The championship also serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2027 Women's World Cup, with Asia having six spots to qualify for the tournament in Brazil, four semi-finalists and two winners from the play-off matches (for the four quarter-final losers).

The VFF said Việt Nam would try to advance to the last eight round before making plans for the World Cup.

The youth football teams will also be busy in 2026.

Among them, the U17 squad will compete in the Asian Championship in Saudi Arabia from May 7-24, eyeing a slot in the quarter-finals, which will take them to the U17 World Cup 2026 in Qatar.

Their task is not easy as rivals Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and defending champion Uzbekistan, are all strong and have taken part in this event many times.

The Vietnamese men's futsal team will participate in the 2026 Asian Futsal Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia, from January 27 to February 7. Coach Diego Raul Giustozzi's squad will face Kuwait, Lebanon and Thailand. The entire team are determined to go far in the tournament after their disappointing performance at the recent SEA Games 33. VNS