'U17 Vietnam beat UAE, advance straight to World Cup'

"In reality, the physical condition of the UAE U17 players is similar to that of Oman U17, Australia U17, or Japan U17. They are not superior to us. At the age of 17, the players are not yet complete.

U17 Vietnam has players who can make a difference. That is Duy Khang on the left wing, Viet Long on the right wing, Van Bach as striker or Gia Bao coming from the bench.

If the defense is well organized, plays solidly, and doesn't give the opponent many opportunities to approach the goal like in the match against U17 Japan, we have a chance to win," coach Pham Minh Duc assessed.

U17 Vietnam is ready to fight U17 UAE.

According to coach Pham Minh Duc, U17 Vietnam just had a very commendable match against defending champion U17 Japan. This helps the young players become much more confident when facing opponents who are rated higher.

“Vietnam U17 had 2 friendly matches winning against Oman U17 before the tournament, then drew with Australia U17 and Japan U17. With the match against UAE U17, if Vietnam U17 plays with high spirit like the recent matches, it will be very promising.

The important thing is that youth football has not yet perfected its basic skills. Personally, I think that even the defending champion Japan had difficulty against U17 Vietnam, so we have a chance against U17 UAE," coach Pham Minh Duc analyzed.

“I think this U17 generation does not have any outstanding players who have become big stars like Cong Phuong, Quang Hai, Van Hau before, but there is uniformity. After this tournament, no player of U17 Vietnam can play in the First Division, but only in the Second Division.

Vietnam U17 had two matches that received much praise against Australia and Japan. They can be considered potential, but they have to make a lot of effort," concluded coach Pham Minh Duc.