U.16 Vietnam goes to China for training: Coach Roland in the hot seat, or someone else...?

Vietnam U.16 will go to China for training, to prepare for the 2026 AFC U.17 qualifiers taking place at the end of this year.

U.16 Vietnam departs for China

At the invitation of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), U.16 Vietnam will participate in the 2025 International U.16 Football Tournament, taking place from May 26 to June 1 in Hohhot city, China.

According to information from CFA, the tournament will gather four youth teams including U.16 Vietnam, U.16 Australia, U.16 Saudi Arabia and the host team U.16 China. The main purpose of the tournament is to create opportunities for players to compete and practice in preparation for the 2026 AFC U.17 qualifiers starting in November.

To prepare for this tournament, U.16 Vietnam is expected to gather in mid-May in Hanoi . The team will have about two weeks of training before leaving for China to participate in the tournament. Regarding the force, the team will gather players born in 2009 and later.

U.16 Vietnam (red shirt) will gather in May

PHOTO: VFF

This is also the age group where many players have been given the opportunity to concentrate and train with the Vietnam U.17 team during the preparation period for the 2025 AFC U.17 Championship. Notable among them are the midfielder duo who made it to the official list, Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc and Nguyen Van Duong.

Midfielder Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc started all 3 matches at the 2025 AFC U-17 Championship and made a strong impression in the midfield of Vietnam U-17. Meanwhile, midfielder Nguyen Van Duong also gained valuable experience when he was put on the field in the 79th minute in the 1-1 draw with Japan U-17.

Creating conditions for U.16 Vietnam to participate in a quality tournament in China is expected to help the players mature professionally and accumulate more experience and international competition skills, thereby preparing well for the 2026 U.17 Asian qualifiers.

Coach Roland continues to lead?

Coach Roland accompanied U.17 Vietnam in the qualifying round and the final round of the 2025 U.17 Asia Championship. The Brazilian strategist helped his students "transform" with 10 unbeaten matches, including official and friendly matches.

Under the coaching of Mr. Roland, U.17 Vietnam drew with U.17 Japan and U.17 Australia in the U.17 Asian finals, won against U.17 Japan and U.17 Uzbekistan in friendly matches, and had good matches against U.17 Oman and U.17 UAE.

However, Mr. Roland does not have a contract with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). He only has a contract with the Hanoi Youth Football Training Center, and leads the Vietnam U.17 team at the invitation of the VFF. After the 2025 AFC U.17 Championship, the two sides sat down to calculate the future.

Sharing with Thanh Nien Newspaper, Coach Roland affirmed: "Currently, I am still the coach of U.17 Hanoi. That is the first door that opened for me. As for the future, it is impossible to say for sure.

I want to contribute to Vietnamese football. If I have the opportunity, I want to accompany many more young Vietnamese teams, not just the U.17 team. If Hanoi FC and VFF reach an agreement, I am willing to contribute my best."

If consensus is reached, Coach Roland will continue to lead U.16 Vietnam, to continue dreaming of the World Cup with Vietnamese youth football.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u16-viet-nam-sang-trung-quoc-tap-huan-hlv-roland-ngoi-ghe-nong-hay-185250423111159724.htm