U17 Vietnam will play very late matches at the Asian Championship, determined to secure a spot in the World Cup

Vietnam’s U17 squad will face matches in the late hours during the 2026 AFC U17 Championship held on Saudi soil.

Starting from May 7, the U17 Vietnam team will participate in the 2026 AFC U17 Asian Cup, taking place in Saudi Arabia. According to the draw results, the red-shirted team is placed in Group C alongside U17 Yemen, U17 South Korea, and U17 UAE.

Notably, the official schedule requires the U17 Vietnam players to play at quite late hours in the host country. Specifically, their opening match against U17 Yemen will kick off at midnight on May 7. Then, they face South Korea at 11 PM on May 10 before meeting U17 UAE at midnight on May 14 in their final group game.

In fact, this timing is not unfamiliar to Vietnamese football teams when playing in West Asian countries, due to the 4-hour time difference. Recently, at the AFC U23 Championship, the U23 Vietnam team also frequently played during these late hours.

During the qualifiers, U17 Vietnam showed great effort, demonstrating determination and technical progress by securing a perfect 15 points, scoring 30 goals, and conceding none, qualifying for the final round as group leaders. These positive group stage results helped the team achieve the goal of being among the continent’s top squads.

At the final tournament, teams will compete in a single round-robin format within each group to select the top 8 teams advancing to the quarterfinals, who will also earn the right to participate in the FIFA U17 World Cup Qatar 2026. This is a crucial opportunity for U17 Vietnam to continue affirming their status and gaining valuable experience on the continental stage.