Although Vietnam were not drawn into the toughest group at the U17 World Cup, coach Cristiano Roland and his players know thorough preparation will be essential if they hope to make an impact.

The performances shown by Roland’s squad at the AFC U17 Asian Cup offered reasons for optimism, but the World Cup stage presents a completely different level of difficulty, with opponents considered stronger than the Vietnamese side.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and coach Roland understand this clearly and are currently searching for opponents capable of properly testing the team. These friendlies are not simply warm-up matches but valuable opportunities for players to develop as quickly as possible before stepping onto the World Cup stage.

Training camps in Europe and participation in international youth tournaments are therefore expected to feature prominently in Vietnam’s preparation plans. However, recognizing what needs to be done is one thing - turning those plans into reality is another challenge entirely for Vietnamese youth football.

But will it really be easy?

Indonesia entered the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup with what was widely considered an ambitious preparation campaign. As hosts, the Southeast Asian side invested heavily in a five-week training camp in Germany through a cooperation program with the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach directly supported Indonesia’s preparations, while the team played six trial matches against youth sides during the camp.

Finding quality opposition is not simple.

On paper, it appeared to be an ideal preparation model for a Southeast Asian team. Yet even Indonesia struggled to find truly high-level U17 opponents ahead of the World Cup. Their most notable international friendly before the tournament came against South Korea U17, while most other matches were played against German club youth teams.

The experience highlighted an important reality: once teams step onto the global stage at youth World Cups, money and determination alone are not enough to secure ideal preparation opponents.

Vietnam U17 are likely to face a similar problem. Playing against strong European, African or South American teams is the ambition, but organizing quality training camps with suitable opponents and sufficient preparation time is far from straightforward.

As a result, Vietnam’s journey toward the U17 World Cup is not only a football challenge but also a test of relationships, finances, planning and long-term vision.

And perhaps the biggest challenge facing coach Roland and his players right now is not the matches awaiting them in Qatar this November, but the preparation process itself, where finding quality opponents remains extremely difficult - even though the VFF has done an impressive job in recent years arranging valuable tests for national teams.

Duy Nguyen