Indonesian newspaper predicts U17 Vietnam will be eliminated early and will not be able to attend the World Cup.

(Dan Tri) - Bola.Okezone newspaper predicts that the Vietnam U17 team is at risk of being eliminated early in the U17 Asian tournament and will not be able to qualify for the World Cup.

From April 3, U17 Vietnam will enter the 2025 U17 Asian Cup. This is the tournament that directly decides the ticket to attend the World Cup. Because FIFA increased the number of teams participating in the 2025 U17 World Cup to 48 teams, Asia will have 8 slots along with the host team Qatar to participate in this tournament.

U17 Vietnam has a chance to win a ticket to the World Cup (Photo: Tuan Bao).

That means the top two teams in each group will qualify for the world- class tournament. In the upcoming tournament, U17 Vietnam will be in the same group with Japan, Australia and UAE. This is considered a very difficult group for coach Cristiano Roland's team.

Bola.Okezone does not believe that U17 Vietnam can qualify for the World Cup. The newspaper commented: "U17 Australia is very strong as they won the U16 Asian Championship and topped Group G of the U17 Asian qualifiers. Obviously, the Kangaroo team has the ability to top this group.

Regardless, in theory, U17 Australia is still stronger than U17 Vietnam and U17 UAE. After failing to qualify for the 2023 U17 World Cup, the Kangaroo team is very determined to win a ticket."

U17 Indonesia is in a group with South Korea, Yemen and Afghanistan. Bola.Okezone newspaper highly appreciates the team's chances of qualifying for the World Cup. They commented: "U17 Indonesia has a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup when it is in Group C with South Korea, Yemen and Afghanistan.

If we look at recent performances, U17 Indonesia can completely defeat Yemen and Afghanistan. If they can do that, the team from the archipelago will have a ticket to the World Cup."

U17 Indonesia is in a relatively easy group (Photo: FIFA).

Commenting on the chances of Thailand U17 (in the same group with Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and China), the Indonesian newspaper wrote: "Thailand U17 also has the ability to qualify for the World Cup even though they are in the same group with Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and China.

This is based on the recent good performance of Thailand U17. In the Southeast Asian U16 tournament, Thailand excellently held Australia to a draw and only lost in the penalty shootout. In the Asian U17 qualifiers, Thailand also topped the group."

According to schedule, U17 Vietnam will have their opening match in the U17 Asian tournament against U17 Australia on April 4.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-indonesia-du-doan-u17-viet-nam-bi-loai-som-khong-the-du-world-cup-20250228194317087.htm