U17 Song Lam Nghe An is in a highly competitive group in the 2025 National U17 qualifying round.

According to the latest announcement from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the 23 teams participating in the 2025 National U17 Qualifiers have been divided into 4 groups. Group B is hosted by the PVF Youth Football Training Center, bringing together 6 teams: PVF-CAND, SHB Da Nang, Luxury Ha Long, Dong A Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong andLam River Nghe An.

Notably, Group B brings together many teams with strong traditions and youth training potential. In particular, PVF-CAND is the 2024 National U15 champion, considered the leading candidate for the next round. Last year's PVF-CAND U15 squad is the core force of this year's U17 team, in the context that the tournament is only for players born in 2009 or later. This is a great advantage in terms of stability and uniformity in the squad.

Not to be outdone, SHB Da Nang, Dong A Thanh Hoa and Hai Phong are also famous youth training centers in Vietnam. All three possess disciplined, physical playing styles and are gradually forming a clear playing style in the youth ranks. With the presence of the above names, Group B is quickly recognized as the most competitive group in the qualifying round.

Having to face many strong opponents right from the qualifying round puts the SLNA U17 team under a lot of pressure. Sharing before the official draw, SLNA U17 head coach Hai Nam said: “We respect all opponents. Being in a highly competitive group is undesirable, but it is also an opportunity for the players to compete and prove their abilities. The immediate goal is to ensure maximum concentration and exploit the weaknesses of each opponent in each match.”

This year, due to the importance of the tournament, in order to prepare for the 2026 AFC U17 qualifiers, the Vietnam Football Federation has clearly stipulated: Only players born in 2009 or later are allowed to participate. This has forced many young teams to rebuild their squads early, and SLNA is no exception.

The 2025 National U17 Qualifiers will be held in a round-robin format with points calculated in the host city. Each group will select the First and Second teams, along with the 3 Third-placed teams with the best results to enter the final round.

With 6 teams in Group B, the race for the next round is expected to be extremely tense. In the event that teams have the same number of points, the calculation of goal difference and head-to-head will play a key role. According to the Organizing Committee's regulations, to ensure fairness when groups have an uneven number of teams, the results between the third-placed team and the bottom-placed team in multi-team groups will not be counted when comparing achievements.

In a group with 4 teams that are capable of competing fairly for a ticket to the next round like group B, a stumble against any opponent can seriously affect U17 SLNA's chance of reaching the final round.

The draw and schedule for the qualifying round will take place on August 8, 2025, at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation. Immediately after the draw, the teams will have a short time to review their squads, perfect their playing style and prepare for the tournament.

With a fierce group like Group B, the journey to conquer the ticket to the 2025 National U17 Finals of U17 Song Lam Nghe An will certainly not be easy. However, if they can promote their existing strengths and traditions, the young team from Nghe An can completely overcome the challenge to win a ticket to the finals.