Vietnam’s U17 team will receive significant long-term investment from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) after securing a historic place at the FIFA U17 World Cup 2026, with the generation now viewed as a key pillar in the country’s dream of reaching the senior FIFA World Cup in 2034.

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Vietnam’s U17 team qualifies for the FIFA U17 World Cup for the first time. Photo: VFF

Vietnam’s U17 side became the country’s third 11-a-side national team to qualify for a FIFA World Cup tournament, following the Vietnam U19 team under coach Hoang Anh Tuan and the Vietnam women’s national team in 2023.

Including futsal, Vietnam has now qualified for football World Cup tournaments five times.

However, qualifying for the senior FIFA World Cup remains the ultimate objective of Vietnamese football.

Under former coach Park Hang Seo, Vietnam achieved its best result by reaching the third round of Asian qualifiers for the World Cup.

Following the U17 team’s achievement in qualifying for the FIFA U17 World Cup 2026, VFF has identified the current generation as the foundation for long-term ambitions, including a push toward qualification for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan said: “The current Vietnam U17 generation is a highly promising group of players that VFF is focusing on investing in and developing for long-term goals in the future, including the journey toward the 2034 World Cup qualifiers.”

The VFF chief also stressed that tournaments such as the AFC U17 Asian Cup and the FIFA U17 World Cup provide crucial experience for young players and could serve as a launching pad for bigger stages five or six years from now.

“To reach elite football, players must prepare themselves to become more mature, resilient and capable of meeting the very high standards of professional football,” Tuan said.

In the immediate future, Tran Quoc Tuan has instructed VFF’s technical departments to develop high-quality international training and competition plans in preparation for the FIFA U17 World Cup 2026.

The strategy is also aimed at building a strong foundation for Vietnam’s longer-term football ambitions, particularly the 2034 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

Vietnam’s journey toward the World Cup remains a long story, but if youth teams such as the current U17 squad continue to regularly qualify for Asian finals and compete on the world stage, the country’s football dream may no longer feel out of reach.

Dai Nam