Although they have not achieved good results at the U16 and U19 Southeast Asia 2024 tournaments, Vietnamese youth football has been consolidating and improving to turn towards further goals after those failures.
Currently, U17 Vietnam, with the core of U16 players who have participated in the Southeast Asia tournament, is gathering in Hanoi, practicing and preparing for the U17 Asian qualifiers that will take place in this coming October. To prepare for this tournament, coach Cristiano Roland and his team will participate in an international friendly tournament (Peace Cup 2024) in China. The tournament takes place from August 16 to 20, with the participation of teams including: U17 Japan, U17 Uzbekistan, and the host U17 China. After this tournament, U17 Vietnam will also have a training trip in Japan before competing in the U17 Asian qualifiers.
On August 15, the U20 Vietnam team, with the core of the U19 players who have participated in the U19 Southeast Asia tournament, will gather in Hanoi to prepare for the 2025 U20 Asian qualifiers. During this gathering, coach Hua Hien Vinh and his team will go to Japan for training offered by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). Here, U20 Vietnam will have friendly matches with quality "blue" teams introduced by the Japan Football Federation. After returning home, U20 Vietnam is scheduled to have 2 internal matches with U20 Russia in Hanoi.
It is known that by creating the best conditions for U17 and U20 Vietnam, VFF is aiming to help Vietnamese youth football compete for the Asian finals and make a mark right at home. Accordingly, for both the U17 and U20 Asia 2025 qualifiers, Vietnam is the host of these two groups.
Specifically, the 2025 Asian U17 qualifying round will take place in Phu Tho from October 23 to 27. Meanwhile, the 2025 Asian U20 qualifying round takes place at Lach Tray Stadium, Hai Phong from September 21 to 29. “The main goal that VFF sets for the national youth teams is to regularly participate in the finals of tournaments at the Asian level at all ages. This helps young players have access to the continent's leading football platforms," VFF Vice President in charge of professional affairs Mr. Tran Anh Tu shared.
Reported by Thai Hai - Translated by Ngoc Huynh
