Football

Việt Nam will compete in the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 on May 5-23 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. — Photos courtesy of VFF

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's U17 players kick off their World Cup campaigns with high spirit and determination, promising their best performance despite playing far away from home.

The men's squad have landed in Saudi Arabia and had their first training session for the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 which will be held on May 5-23 in Jeddah City.

The tournament gathers qualified 15 teams after a recent withdrawal of North Korea. They are divided into three groups of four and one of three.

In their 10th participation, Việt Nam are in Group C with two-time winners South Korea, 2002 runners-up Yemen, and 1990 runners-up United Arab Emirates. Their matches will begin on May 6 at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium Legends.

Teams will compete in the round robin format in the group round with two best ones advancing to the quarter-finals.

Eight teams with highest results and hosts Qatar will be Asian representatives at the U17 World Cup in 2027.

Coach Cristiano Roland brings 23 players who just won the Southeast Asian title last week to Jeddah.

He said the Asian Cup was a high competitive tournament which was a World Cup qualification round. His players were asked to pay 100 per cent of attention for preparation to improve their technique and playing style.

They would have to work harder than they did in the Southeast Asian tournament to have positive result in Saudi Arabia.

Women's dream

Also in the continental level, the Vietnamese female players will face arch-rival Thailand in the opening match of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup's Group A on May 1 afternoon in Suzhou, China.

Things will underway at Suzhou Taihu Football Sports Centre with the Southeast Asian rivals looking to continue from their sterling qualification campaigns.

The women's U17 squad begin their Asian Cup against Thailand on May 1 afternoon.

Thailand ended the last three editions in the group stage but will be hoping for a longer campaign this time after topping Group F of the Qualifiers with maximum points, scoring 29 goals without reply.

Việt Nam also came through with flying colours, finishing first in Group D with wins over Hong Kong, China and Guam.

With eight goals in the Qualifiers, Thailand’s Kurisara Limpawanich will be one to watch but Việt Nam’s defence led by Ngô Hải Yến will not be easy to breach.

Thailand are a strong force in the ASEAN area and have never lost to Việt Nam in any official tournament. The only one victory of the Vietnamese side was a 2-1 win in a friendly tournament last April.

In other match of the group, China head coach Ma Xiaoxu will look to capitalise on home ground advantage against Myanmar.

With several players in the squad having already played in the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup 2025, Ma will not be short of experience in her squad.

Among those is defender Yang Yuxuan – who is a native of Suzhou – who will look to propel China to a seventh successive semi-final appearance.

Myanmar, however, will be out to show that their first place finish in the Group C of the Qualifiers was no fluke, with head coach Kumiko Tashiro plotting for a surprise result in the Southeast Asian side’s return to the Finals after a 17-year absence.

Only the top two from each group will advance automatically to the knockout stage so the actions are expected to be fast and furious from the first blow of the whistle.

All teams target the top-four position of the tournament which will help them qualify for the 2026 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in Morocco as the AFC representatives in October. — VNS