Vietnam's team faces Thailand in the opening match of the U17 Women's Asian Cup, AFC comments

The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) homepage has commented on the match between Vietnam's U17 women's team and Thailand's U17 women's team in the 2026 U17 Women's Asian Cup.

Vietnam's U17 women's team will begin their campaign in Group A of the 2026 U17 Women's Asian Cup with a match against Thailand's U17 women's team at 14:30 on May 1 in China. Ahead of the match, AFC commented: "The clash between these two Southeast Asian 'powers' will kick off the tournament at 14:30. In Group A, Thailand's U17 women's team and Vietnam's U17 women's team will face each other on Pitch 1 at the Taihu Football Sports Center in Suzhou. Thailand's U17 women's team achieved their best result, finishing third in 2005, while Vietnam's U17 women's team is making their second appearance after their debut in 2019 (where they were eliminated in the group stage)."

This group also includes China's U17 women's team and Myanmar's U17 women's team. The host nation, China, is considered the strongest team in Group A.

"At 18:30, the host China's quest for the championship will begin at the Suzhou Sports Center Stadium. Aiming to surpass their runner-up achievement in 2005 and become the first host nation to lift the championship trophy, China's U17 women's team (who finished 4th in 2024) is also seeking their 5th World Cup qualification ticket as they face Myanmar's U17 women's team in the other Group A match. For Myanmar, this marks their first return since their debut in 2009," AFC noted.

The 2026 U17 Women's Asian Cup will take place in China from May 1 to May 17, 2026. For the first time in history, the tournament will feature a total of 12 teams competing, and there will be no third-place match.

The top four teams in the tournament will qualify for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup 2026 in Morocco as AFC representatives. Currently, North Korea's U17 women's team is the reigning champion of the tournament.

According to the competition format, the 12 teams are divided into 3 groups. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-place teams, will advance to the quarter-finals to compete for qualification spots for the 2026 U17 Women's World Cup. Vietnam's U17 women's team has a chance to advance from the group stage but needs to achieve a good result against Thailand's U17 women's team.