U17 Vietnam: The World Cup ticket seems far away but is actually... close

1. After a fairly successful training trip (with 2 wins) in Oman, coach Cristiano Roland and his team went to Saudi Arabia to participate in the 2025 AFC U17 Championship. This is the first time in 9 times participating in the continental finals that Vietnam U17 has been led by a foreign coach. Although the draw put Cristiano Roland and his team in a difficult group, because they were in the same group with Japan, Australia and UAE, the team did not falter. The specific goal that Vietnam U17 is aiming for in this tournament is a ticket to the U17 World Cup taking place in Qatar in November 2025.

Vietnam U17 is ready for the AFC U17 Championship.

2. The ambition of U17 Vietnam when participating in the Asian Finals may seem too much at first, but coach Cristiano Roland's team can still completely achieve it once they pass the group stage.

It should also be added that the U17 World Cup in Qatar has been increased by FIFA from 24 to 48 teams. And Asia has been given 8 more slots compared to 4 like previous tournaments, so the opportunity for U17 Vietnam is very bright.

The U17 Asian Cup has 4 groups, so if they are in the top 2, U17 Vietnam will automatically win a ticket to the World Cup next November.

3. Falling into a challenging group with the presence of Japan, Australia and UAE makes fans not dare to expect U17 Vietnam to make a difference in the upcoming continental tournament.

As well as getting ready for the goal of qualifying for the World Cup.

However, youth tournaments are always unpredictable, not everyone who comes from a more developed football background will automatically win. And the clearest example is the fairy tale of U19 Vietnam in 2016, for example.

In the 2016 AFC U19 Championship, despite being in a group with Iraq, UAE and North Korea, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team still won the right to continue, before defeating Bahrain in the quarter-finals and winning a ticket to the U20 World Cup taking place a year later.

Recalling this story not only inspires U17 Vietnam and coach Cristiano Roland, but is also an example of the affirmation that youth football always has many variables.

U17 Japan, Australia or UAE are of course rated higher, but who knows, maybe coach Cristiano Roland and the U17 Vietnam players can recreate the feat that their predecessors did: bringing the country's youth football to the World Cup once again.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/u17-viet-nam-chiec-ve-world-cup-tuong-xa-ma-lai-gan-2386774.html