Vietnam U17 captain shares before the opening match at the 2025 AFC U17 Championship

The Vietnam U17 team is training in Taif, Saudi Arabia to prepare for the 2025 AFC U17 Championship. Training sessions take place from 4pm local time (8pm Vietnam time) at the Taif Permanent Youth Camp, about 40 minutes by bus from the team's hotel.

Before the training session, captain Le Huy Viet Anh - a player who is considered by AFC to be one of the most worth-watching faces at the 2025 AFC U17 Championship finals - shared: "My feelings right now are nervousness mixed with excitement as I prepare to enter the tournament. The training session in Oman and the two recent friendly matches with U17 Oman are important stepping stones to help the whole team become more confident. Even though they were just friendly matches, the two wins against Oman still brought us great motivation." Regarding being trusted to wear the captain's armband, Viet Anh said: "I am very happy to take on this responsibility. Of course there will be pressure, but I consider it a motivation to try harder, help my teammates and show my role on the field. I always encourage everyone to focus, try hard and not be afraid of any opponent."

Regarding the training conditions in Taif, the captain of the U17 Vietnam team highly appreciated the facilities and the adaptability of the whole team: "The field is very good, the team has also gotten used to the new time zone. The only thing is that the weather is quite hot, but we will try to adapt as quickly as possible."

In response to the attention and following of fans at home, Viet Anh sent a message: "I hope everyone will always follow and cheer for the team. The whole team will try their best to achieve the best results in each match."

After training in Oman and traveling to Saudi Arabia on March 30, the players are gradually getting used to the competition conditions here. The temperature in Taif ranges from 18 to 32 degrees Celsius, the time when the team goes out to practice is quite hot but it is cooler at the end of the session thanks to the rapid temperature drop and a lot of wind. This is quite favorable for coach Cristiano and his team when the matches of the Vietnam U17 team at the 2025 AFC U17 Championship finals all take place at 6:00 p.m. local time.

With the U17 Vietnam team having two friendly matches with U17 Oman, the team is basically ready to enter the tournament. Therefore, in the remaining 2 days, coach Cristiano Roland mainly focused on perfecting the tactics and playing style for his players.