Vietnam U17 faces South Korea, with a strong chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - According to the draw for the 2026 AFC U17 Championship, Vietnam U17 is in the same group as South Korea, UAE, and Yemen. Notably, the top two teams in each group will qualify for the U17 World Cup.

On the afternoon of February 12th, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the draw for the group stage of the AFC U17 Championship. Accordingly, Vietnam U17 is in Group C with opponents South Korea U17, Yemen U17, and UAE U17.

Vietnam U17 team is determined to aim for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup (Photo: An An).

Notably, the 2026 AFC U17 Championship also serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2026 U17 World Cup. Since last year, FIFA has decided to increase the number of participating teams to 48. Asia will have 8 slots (out of a total of 16 teams in the AFC U17 Championship).

Therefore, the top two teams in each group will qualify for the U17 World Cup. This is considered a golden opportunity for the Vietnam U17 team.

Among the opponents in Group C, the U17 Yemen and U17 UAE teams are both on par with U17 Vietnam. Besides that, we can certainly spring a surprise against U17 South Korea, just like our U23 team did at the recent U23 Asian Championship.

In last year's tournament, the Vietnam U17 team lost their ticket to the U17 World Cup at the last minute when they conceded a 1-1 equalizer to the UAE U17 team in the 87th minute. Without that goal, Vietnam U17 would have qualified for the world tournament despite being in a tough group with Japan, Australia, and the UAE.

That defeat motivated the team to try again in this year's tournament. Being in a relatively easy group allows the Vietnam U17 team to dream of a ticket to the World Cup.

Results of the draw for the AFC U17 Asian Championship (Photo: AFC).

Meanwhile, the U17 Thailand team is in Group A with host Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Myanmar. The U17 Indonesia team is in Group B with Japan, China, and Qatar.

To date, the Indonesian U17 team is the only Southeast Asian team to have qualified for the U17 World Cup in history. In 2023, they participated as the host nation. In the 2025 tournament, the team from the archipelago advanced beyond the group stage.

The 2026 AFC U17 Championship will take place from May 7-24 in Saudi Arabia. Vietnam U17 will play their opening match against UAE U17.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/u17-viet-nam-doi-dau-han-quoc-rong-cua-du-world-cup-20260212144902235.htm