FIFA did not include Vietnam in the list of teams for the 2026 U17 World Cup.

The list of seeded teams for the 2026 U17 World Cup on the FIFA website on May 20th did not include Vietnam, even though the team had already qualified.

On May 20th, FIFA released the seeding documents for the draw of the 2026 U17 World Cup in Zurich, Switzerland. However, Vietnam was not included in the list of 48 participating teams.

Exactly one week earlier, Vietnam had been confirmed by FIFA to qualify for the 2026 U17 World Cup for the first time in history, thanks to their achievement of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFC U17 Championship. In the group stage of the Asian tournament, Vietnam's U17 team won against Yemen 1-0, lost to South Korea 1-4, and then defeated the UAE 3-2 in Group C. Cristiano Roland's team, along with South Korea, advanced to the quarter-finals and simultaneously qualified for the U17 World Cup. Meanwhile, Yemen and the UAE were eliminated.

The list of seeded teams for the U17 World Cup does not include Vietnam or China. (Image: screenshot)

Not only Vietnam, but China also failed to appear on the FIFA seeded list, despite being confirmed to have qualified on May 12th. China lost 0-1 to Indonesia in their opening match, then suffered a 1-2 defeat against Japan. However, they subsequently beat Qatar 2-0 to finish second in Group B and advance to the quarterfinals along with Japan.

Indonesia is the only team in this group that didn't qualify for the U17 World Cup. Qatar finished third and didn't reach the Asian quarter-finals, but automatically qualified for the 2026 U17 World Cup as the host nation. Meanwhile, China even reached the Asian U17 Championship final, where they will face Japan again on May 22nd.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is in seed group 2, and Yemen is in group 4, even though neither team qualified.

FIFA's conflicting U17 World Cup 2026 group stage draw list.

Group 1 : Qatar, Brazil, France, Mali, Argentina, Italy, Japan, Spain, USA, Mexico, Senegal, South Korea.

Group 2 : Morocco, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Croatia, Ecuador, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, Colombia, Chile, Indonesia , Egypt, Australia.

Group 3 : Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Tajikistan, Panama, New Caledonia, Honduras, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Fiji, Cameroon, Denmark.

Group 4 : Montenegro, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Uruguay, Tanzania, Algeria, Yemen , Jamaica, Cuba, and two undetermined African teams.

According to the regulations, the 48 participating teams are divided into four seeded groups based on their performance in the last five U17 World Cups: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, and 2025. Therefore, incorrect team names or omissions of eligible teams could affect the entire grouping process and the determination of opponents.

FIFA has not yet explained or clarified this list.

The 2026 U17 World Cup in Qatar will be the 21st edition, taking place from November 19th to December 13th, featuring 48 teams. In the most recent edition, Portugal won the tournament in its first appearance with an expanded format of 48 teams.

Vietnamese players celebrate after defeating UAE 3-2 in the final match of Group C at the 2026 AFC U17 Championship, at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2026. Photo: Song Hoa

At the draw, the 48 teams will be divided into four seeded groups, each containing 12 teams. Host nation Qatar is automatically placed in Group 1. The grouping is based on the total points earned by the teams in the last five U17 World Cups. Performance in the most recent tournament carries the highest weight, while previous tournaments have decreasing value.

The top-ranked teams will join Qatar in Group 1. The remaining teams will be placed in Groups 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Each group in the finals will consist of four teams, with one team drawn from each seeded group. Teams from the same federation will not be in the same group.

Since Africa (CAF) still has two undetermined spots before the draw, FIFA will temporarily use the confederation's representative symbol for these two teams. CAF has a total of 10 spots in the tournament.

The list of teams participating in the 2026 U17 World Cup, as previously confirmed by FIFA.

Asia (AFC) : Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Australia, Uzbekistan, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam .

Europe (UEFA) : Spain, Belgium, Montenegro, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia.

Africa (CAF) : Tanzania, Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria, Mali, Senegal, and two undetermined spots.

North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) : Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama, United States, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico.

South America (CONMEBOL) : Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Oceania (OFC) : New Caledonia, New Zealand, Fiji.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/fifa-khong-dua-viet-nam-vao-danh-list-du-u17-world-cup-2026-post310993.html