Vietnam U.17 avoids being drawn into a "group of death".

At the 2026 U.17 World Cup, Vietnam U.17 will face Mali U.17, Belgium U.17, and New Zealand U.17.

THE STRONGEST REPRESENTATIVE OF AFRICA

The draw for the 2026 U.17 World Cup took place last night, May 21st, at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. According to the draw rules, host nation Qatar U.17 was automatically placed in seed group 1 and assigned position A1. Meanwhile, the remaining teams were grouped based on their performance in the last five U.17 World Cups (2025, 2023, 2019, 2017, and 2015). Because Vietnam U.17 has never participated in the tournament before, being placed in seed group 4 and drawn into a difficult group was anticipated.

Vietnam U.17 (right) trying to get through the group stage.

Photo: VFF

Accordingly, Vietnam U17 is in Group G with Mali U17, Belgium U17, and New Zealand U17. Group G is considered easier than the other groups. In this group, the African representative is rated the highest. Mali U17 finished second once in the tournament in 2015. Meanwhile, Belgian football, although among the world's top teams, is not outstanding at the youth level. Belgium U17 finished third in 2015. New Zealand U17 has participated in the U17 World Cup many times but has not achieved any significant success.

P must continue to improve.

Currently, Vietnamese youth football boasts a very talented generation of U17 players. Under the guidance of coach Cristiano Roland, players like Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc, Le Sy Bach, Nguyen Van Duong, and goalkeeper Ly Xuan Hoa have consistently achieved success from regional to continental competitions. The Vietnamese U17 team maintained an impressive unbeaten streak from the 2026 U17 Asian Championship qualifiers to the 2026 U17 Southeast Asian Championship, before convincingly winning the regional title. At the 2026 U17 Asian Championship finals, Coach Roland's team left a significant mark with victories against opponents with superior physique and stamina, such as U17 Yemen and U17 UAE. The tactical and technical performances of Nguyen Luc and his teammates helped the Vietnamese U17 team advance to the Asian quarterfinals and secure a historic ticket to the Youth World Cup.

Based on their recent performances, fans have the right to have high expectations for the Vietnamese U17 players. However, the U17 World Cup is a tournament of a completely different level compared to regional and continental competitions. "The World Cup is at a much higher level. The Vietnamese U17 team still has a lot to do and needs to change to improve in the future. I hope they will have the best possible preparations so that they can go there with confidence," Coach Roland commented. From now until the start of the 2026 U17 World Cup, the Vietnamese U17 team has nearly six months to prepare. They need to continue accumulating experience and gaining match practice through training camps and friendly matches to improve.

The 2026 U.17 World Cup will take place in Qatar from November 19th to December 13th. This is the second time this youth tournament has been held, featuring 48 teams. Asia has 9 representatives, including the host nation. Vietnam's U.17 team is the only team from Southeast Asia participating in this tournament. The 48 teams are divided equally into 12 groups (4 teams per group). Teams play a round-robin format to determine points and rankings. The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u17-viet-nam-khong-roi-vao-bang-tu-than-185260521220816563.htm