Candidates for the 2023 National U17 Championship

1.Defending champion U17 PVF

This is one of the familiar names in youth tournaments and it was U17 PVF who won the championship in 2022. That is the tournament that coach Nguyen Duy Dong and his team overcame.U17 Song Lam Nghe Anin the semi-finals and U17 Saigon in the final. In this year's tournament, U17 PVF still brought a very strong squad to defend the throne.

The reigning champion U17 PVF is highly rated in this year's tournament. Photo: VFF

These are the pillars of the Vietnam U17 team that just competed very successfully in the recent U17 Asian qualifiers. In the defense are the trio Le Nguyen Quoc Kien, Le Thang Long and Khuc Trung Hieu. In the front line are Le Ngoc Hung, Nguyen Hoang Anh and Bui Hoang Son. Especially striker Nguyen Le Phat who played very well for Vietnam U17 in the recent qualifiers. The speed and technique of this striker will be a nightmare for the defense of the teams that have to face PVF U17 in this year's tournament.

2.U17 Song Lam Nghe An

It can be said that U17 Song Lam Nghe An is the team with the most impressive performance in the 2023 National U17 tournament. After passing the qualifying round with an unbeaten record (6 wins, 2 draws, scoring 23 goals and conceding 5 goals), in the final round, coach Phan Tien Hoai's team showed an even more frightening performance. After the first 2 matches of Group B, U17 Song Lam Nghe An won both matches, scoring 10 goals and conceding no goals. U17 Song Lam Nghe An is one of the teams that has quickly entered the quarter-finals of the tournament.

U17 Song Lam Nghe An is showing a convincing performance in this year's tournament. Photo: Chung Le

Like U17 PVF, U17 Song Lam Nghe An has many U17 Vietnam players in the squad. They are Nguyen Bao Ngoc, Phan Van Thanh, Pham Nguyen Quoc Trung, Le Dinh Long Vu and Phung Van Nam. Especially the captainNguyen Trong Tuan, who is considered the soul in the playing style of U17 Song Lam Nghe An. After 2 matches in Group B, this midfielder wearing the number 7 shirt has scored 4 goals to help coach Phan Tien Hoai's team have easy victories in Group B.

With what they have shown, U17 Song Lam Nghe An deserves to be considered one of the championship candidates of this year's tournament.

3.U17 Viettel Club

Along with U17 Song Lam Nghe An, U17 Viettel Club is the team that has secured a place in the quarter-finals of this year's tournament. Coach Nguyen Van Bien's team has shown superiority in Group C. After the first two rounds, U17 Viettel Club has had 2 wins, scored 4 goals and conceded 1 goal. Notable among them is midfielder Nguyen Cong Phuong. He is also one of the outstanding stars of U17 Vietnam. This midfielder wearing the number 17 shirt has very good personal technique and football thinking. He is the inspiration in U17 Viettel's attacks. If they continue to maintain their high form, Nguyen Cong Phuong and his teammates will certainly go deep in this year's tournament.

Viettel Club U17 (White Shirt) quickly won the right to enter the quarter-finals after 2 consecutive wins. Photo: VFF

4.U17 Hanoi Club

Although they only won 2 points after the first 2 matches, coach Pham Minh Duc and his team cannot be underestimated in this tournament. Being in the group of death, getting points against two strong teams, U17 SHB Da Nang and U17 PVF, is an acceptable result for U17 Hanoi Club. In the final match, coach Pham Minh Duc will know how to overcome the challenge called U17 Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

Under the guidance of coach Pham Minh Duc, U17 Hanoi Club is a very tough opponent. Photo: Sy Hieu

And once they have passed the group stage, the team led by coach Pham Minh Duc will be a tough challenge for opponents in the knockout round. Therefore, U17 Hanoi will still be a candidate for the championship ofNational U17 Tournament 2023.

In addition to the above championship candidates, U17 Hue Football Club and U17 Binh Phuoc Club also promise to be the dark horses of the tournament. These are two teams with many outstanding individuals such as Nguyen Luong Tuan Khai, Vi Dinh Thuong, Nguyen Dang Khoa (U17 Hue Football Club); Dam Trong Phuc, Tran Phan Anh Tu and Nguyen Tan Sang (U17 Binh Phuoc Club).

With the highest determination of the teams participating in this year's tournament, the 2023 National U17 Tournament promises to bring exciting matches to fans.