VFF affirms goal to bring Vietnam national team to World Cup

National Coaching Council holds first meeting in 2026: Strengthening advisory role, guiding comprehensive development of Vietnamese football activities.

On March 24 morning at the VFF headquarters, the first meeting of the National Coaching Council in 2026 took place, aiming to evaluate the work in the first three months of the year and determine key directions and tasks for the upcoming period.

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan acknowledged the positive contributions of the National Coaching Council in recent times, while affirming that Vietnamese football maintains stability and has achieved qualitative progress at both the national team level and the training system. The fact that eight national teams participated in Asian finals clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the comprehensive development strategy.

In the coming time, VFF will continue to strengthen coach training, apply science and technology in coaching and competition, and implement a youth development roadmap, especially for the women's team. The overarching goal is to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese football in regional and continental arenas, aiming for long-term objectives such as the World Cup and maintaining a position among the top 100 FIFA-ranked teams.

At the national team level, Vietnamese football recorded many highlights in the first quarter of 2026. The U23 men's team won the Bronze medal at the 2026 Asian U23 Championship after defeating South Korea's U23 team, while youth and futsal teams continue to maintain regular competition and training activities.

However, women's football faces the requirement of restructuring its squad, aiming for long-term goals in a new development cycle. Discussions at the meeting focused on the direction for using coaches for national teams in the future, emphasizing the need to improve professional quality, strengthen succession planning, and develop domestic coaching staff, while proactively integrating with modern coaching trends.

The first meeting of the National Coaching Council in 2026 concluded with high consensus on action directions, creating an important foundation for effectively implementing professional tasks in 2026 and the following period, especially as Vietnamese football is entering a phase of strong transformation in both personnel and approach.

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