Vietnam U17 aims for the 2034 World Cup

Earlier this year, in a conversation with Sports and Culturereporters, VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan praised the Vietnam U17 team for their performance in the qualifiers under coach Cristiano Roland, and Mr. Tuan also revealed that VFF will focus investment on this generation of players to target securing a World Cup berth.

At that time, when asked about the fact that in 2026 six Vietnamese football teams will participate in continental finals, including the men's U23 team, men's U17 team, women's team, women's U20 team, women's U17 team, and men's futsal team, Mr. Tuan stated: "The men's U17 team is also one of the teams that showed a very positive performance in the qualifiers.

With modern football thinking, a clear playing style, and improved physical foundation, Vietnam U17 has great potential to approach regional and continental standards. VFF will continue to focus investment on the men's U17 team, considering them a core force aiming for the 2034 World Cup qualifiers.

All these plans are part of a long-term, continuous, and systematic preparation strategy, aiming to bring Vietnamese football closer to the World Cup goal, while being ready to seize opportunities when all factors regarding personnel, form, and timing converge."

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan's assessment of the Vietnam U17 team at this point is entirely accurate, especially given that the players have just returned from the 2026 Southeast Asian U17 Championship with the title, where the most notable highlight was the spectacular comeback against Australia U17 in the semifinal and two easy wins over Malaysia U17 in the group stage and the final.

If including the qualifiers, Vietnam U17 has achieved three consecutive wins over Malaysia U17, all with a margin of at least three goals and conceding none, a truly remarkable record in Southeast Asia.

After finishing the 2026 Southeast Asian U17 Championship at the top position, the next important task for the Vietnam U17 team is the 2026 AFC U17 Championship, which will take place in Saudi Arabia in early May.

Also around April last year, Vietnam U17 was very close to securing a quarter-final spot in the 2025 AFC U17 Championship, which meant a ticket to the 2025 U17 World Cup, when they led UAE U17 until the 86th minute, but the opponent's equalizer in the 87th minute forced Vietnam U17 to exit after the group stage.

This year, Vietnam U17 will meet UAE U17 again in the group stage along with Korea U17 and Yemen U17, and the match against UAE U17 will also occur in the final round, exactly like last year.

This is an ideal opportunity for Vietnam U17 to repay the draw from last year's tournament. In theory, UAE U17 and Yemen U17 are also two direct competitors with Vietnam U17 for a quarter-final spot, as Korea U17 is likely to secure the other spot.

Therefore, Coach Roland and his team need to prepare with special seriousness to aim for the goal of advancing past the group stage to secure participation in the U17 World Cup.

According to VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan's assessment, participating in the U17 World Cup will have a very positive significance for the development of young players.

We surely remember how the generation of players who participated in the 2017 U20 World Cup played crucial roles in the important achievements of Vietnamese football during the 2018-2022 period, and many of these players remain pillars of the Vietnam national team, such as Hoang Duc, Quang Hai, or Van Hau.

Therefore, it is no surprise that VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan affirmed that this generation of players will receive focused investment from VFF to serve the World Cup goal in the 2034 tournament.