The dream of winning the World Cup becomes even more challenging.

A tough group for Vietnam U.17

This afternoon (January 23), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the draw for the group stage of the 2025 AFC U-17 Championship, which will take place from April 3 to 20 in Saudi Arabia. The tournament will feature 16 teams, including 15 teams that qualified from the preliminary rounds (among them Vietnam U-17) and host nation Saudi Arabia U-17.

As a result, the draw placed Vietnam U.17 in a very tough group, with Japan U.17 (the defending champions), Australia U.17 (three-time semi-finalists), and UAE U.17.

Vietnam U.17 is in Group B.

In their two most recent appearances at the AFC U-17 Championship finals, the Vietnam U-17 team were eliminated in the group stage with only one point (in 2023) and reached the quarter-finals (in 2016). A common point in both tournaments is that Vietnam U-17 was in the same group as Japan U-17. In both matches against the Japanese team, Vietnam U-17 suffered heavy defeats, with scores of 0-4 (in 2023) and 0-7 (in 2016).

At the draw, the organizers divided the 16 teams into 4 groups, with 4 teams in each group. Based on the ranking points from the 3 most recent finals (2023, 2018, 2016) in the order of 100%, 50%, and 25% of the ranking, Vietnam U.17 was placed in seed group 3 along with Thailand, Oman, and Afghanistan.

The top seeded teams are: Saudi Arabia (hosts of the finals), Japan, South Korea, and Iran. The second seeded teams are: Australia, Yemen, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The fourth seeded teams are: China, North Korea, Indonesia, and UAE.

Sharing a similar fate with Vietnam U17, Thailand U17 is also in a tough Group A with host nation Saudi Arabia U17, Uzbekistan U17, and China U17. Indonesia U17, on the other hand, is in a more manageable Group C with South Korea U17, Yemen U17, and Afghanistan U17.

Starting with the 2025 U.17 World Cup finals to be held in Qatar, the International Football Federation (FIFA) decided to increase the number of participating teams from 24 to 48. Accordingly, Asia was allocated 8 slots, doubling the opportunity for Asian youth teams to participate in the 2025 U.17 World Cup. This also means that the 8 teams that reach the quarterfinals of the 2025 U.17 Asian Championship will qualify for the 2025 U.17 World Cup.

The official schedule for the 2025 AFC U-17 Championship will be announced by the AFC in the near future.

Coach Cristiano Roland: Vietnam U.17 team will not give up.

Speaking to Thanh Nien Newspaper, Coach Cristiano Roland, who led the Vietnam U.17 team in the 2025 U.17 Asian Championship qualifiers, affirmed that no matter how strong the opponent is, the whole team must strive their best.

"In the final round, the tournament will bring together the strongest U.17 teams in the continent. The challenge for Vietnam's U.17 team is very difficult, but that doesn't mean the World Cup goal is impossible or out of reach."

Vietnam U.17 will fight even with slim hopes.

We will prepare to the best of our ability, striving for perfection in every aspect, from selecting and assembling the squad, training, strengthening the playing style, refining attacking and defensive tactics, and improving the players' mentality and physical fitness. The Vietnam U17 team has to go through a rigorous preparation period to aim for the U17 Asian Championship. However, the players already understand the objective. That's the core issue."

The Vietnam U17 team defeated Myanmar U17, drew with Kyrgyzstan U17 and Yemen U17 in the Asian qualifiers. Prior to that, in the Peace Cup friendly tournament held in China, coach Roland's team beat both Japan U17 and Uzbekistan U17 to finish as runners-up. This serves as a source of motivation for the young Vietnamese team to dream of achieving a miracle.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u17-viet-nam-roi-vao-bang-co-nhat-ban-uc-giac-mo-world-cup-them-gian-truan-185250123150611442.htm