OFFICIAL: Vietnam team secures World Cup spot, will not play in Asian qualifiers

U17 Vietnam does not have to participate in the 2027 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers as they already have a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will hold the draw for the 2027 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers on August 27, 2026, at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event starts at 2:00 PM local time, determining the groups and the path to compete for tickets to the finals hosted in Uzbekistan.

In addition to the 35 teams that must go through qualifiers, 9 Asian representatives that have qualified for the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup will directly enter the 2027 AFC U17 Asian Cup finals. Among them is U17 Vietnam, a team that left its mark at the 2026 AFC U17 Asian Cup and became the only Southeast Asian representative to earn a World Cup ticket.

In the group stage of the 2026 AFC U17 Asian Cup, coach Cristiano Roland's team started with a 1-0 victory over U17 Yemen. After a frustrating match against U17 South Korea, U17 Vietnam showed resilience by coming from behind to defeat U17 UAE 3-2 in the final group match, thereby advancing to the quarterfinals and achieving their goal of securing a World Cup berth.

Although they were stopped by U17 Australia in the quarterfinals, U17 Vietnam's journey is still considered a success. The ticket to the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup not only affirms the progress of Vietnam's youth football but also allows the team to skip the 2027 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers. This is a significant advantage for the coaching staff to have more time to prepare the squad for the finals.

According to the plan, the qualifiers consist of 35 teams, divided into 7 groups of 5 teams each. The seven host countries selected are Thailand, UAE, Oman, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, and Kyrgyzstan. Thanks to home advantage, U17 Thailand is expected to have a better chance of competing for a spot in the continent's top youth tournament.

The seeding will be based on the teams' performances in the three most recent editions. Results from 2026 count 100%, 2025 counts 50%, and 2023 counts 25%. This calculation helps the AFC accurately assess the standing, ability, and consistency of each team before the draw.