According to the draw for the 2026 U17 World Cup, Vietnam U17 is in the same group as Mali U17, Belgium U17, and New Zealand U17. Coach Cristiano Roland's team aims to earn their first points in the World Cup and, further, to advance beyond the group stage.
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Vietnam U17 team is highly determined ahead of the U17 World Cup. |
According to the FIFA schedule, the Vietnam U17 team will begin the tournament with a match against Belgium U17 on November 20th. Following that, the Vietnamese youth team will face New Zealand U17 in their second match on November 23rd. Coach Cristiano Roland's team will then play Mali U17 in their final group stage match on November 26th.
The Belgian U17 team is considered the biggest rival of the Vietnamese U17 team. According to the transfer website Transfermarkt, the Belgian U17 team is valued at 6.3 million euros, almost equal to the Vietnamese national team. In reality, this value is concentrated in 6 players.
The most expensive player is Xander Dierckx with 2 million euros. Next are Elie Mbavu (1.5 million euros), Joshua Nga Kana (1.2 million euros), and Jayden Onia Seke (1 million euros). It's worth noting that the Vietnamese national team doesn't have any players worth more than 600,000 euros (the price of Xuan Son).
The Vietnam U17 team doesn't even have a single player valued by Transfermarkt. This shows a significant disparity between the two teams.
The Mali U17 team is also incredibly formidable. They won the African Championship in 2015 and 2017. In their most recent tournament in 2025, they were runners-up on the African continent. At the World Cup level, Mali U17 were runners-up in 2015 and third place in 2023. In their last four appearances at the World Cup, Mali U17 reached the semi-finals three times.
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Group stages of the U17 World Cup |
Essentially, the Mali U17 team possesses the typical qualities of African football: speed and strength. The Vietnam U17 team will have to face a very high-intensity style of play from this team throughout the 90 minutes. Mali U17 will play a pressing game, constantly engaging in one-on-one challenges. In addition, they will utilize their speed to counter-attack.
The New Zealand U17 team can be considered a "lower-ranked version" of the Australia U17 team, the opponent that just defeated Vietnam U17 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Asian U17 Championship. The team from Oceania will certainly study this match carefully. They may take advantage of their physical and athletic strengths to make things difficult for Vietnam U17.
The 2026 U17 World Cup will take place from November 19th to December 13th. According to FIFA regulations, the top two teams in each group and the eight best third-placed teams out of twelve will qualify for the Round of 16.
Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/lich-thi-dau-cua-u17-viet-nam-o-world-cup-u17-postid446267.bbg









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