Tomorrow, U16 Vietnam will leave for China to attend an international tournament.

On the morning of May 25, U16 Vietnam left for China to participate in the CFA Team China 2025 International U16 Football Tournament.

The tournament takes place from May 28 to June 1, 2025 with the participation of 4 U16 teams: Vietnam, Australia, Saudi Arabia and host China.

To prepare for this international tournament, Vietnam U16 had two practice matches with Hanoi U17 and Bac Ninh U17 at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center. This was also an opportunity for the coaching staff to select a list of 24 elite players to go to China to participate in the tournament.

Head coach Cristiano Roland said: “The last two weeks have been very important for the players to get used to the team environment. I am pleased with the quick adaptation of many players as well as the efforts of the whole team. The spirit and attitude in training and competition is something I especially appreciate, because the players always show the will to overcome difficulties and proactively find solutions when encountering problems on the field.”

Mr. Cristiano Roland also said that this generation of players met his expectations in terms of physical strength and endurance: “Compared to the previous generation, the current players have a better physical foundation, meet the training curriculum and have the ability to maintain physical strength in difficult situations. However, this is a long process and the players need to continue to accumulate to develop further.”

The 2025 CFA Team China U16 Tournament is an important test for the current generation of players to prepare for the 2026 AFC U17 Qualifiers. “The tournament is a quality test against three strong opponents, creating an opportunity for the players to clearly understand the level of football in the Asian region and accumulate valuable experience,” said coach Cristiano Roland.

The coaching staff will finalize the U16 team's roster to 23-24 players before going to China. Coach Cristiano Roland admitted that making a decision on personnel selection was not without difficulty because all the players have very good spirit and attitude.

He also expressed that the players whose names were not on the list of selection this time still have many opportunities ahead.