Vietnam will play their first ever FIFA U17 World Cup match against Belgium at 20:00 on 20 November, Vietnam time, before facing New Zealand at 22:30 on 23 November and Mali at 20:00 on 26 November in Group G, according to the schedule published by Thanh Nien. The paper also reported that three Vietnamese media companies have jointly bought the broadcast rights.
Group G schedule
The tournament runs in Qatar from 19 November to 13 December. KBVN+ compiled Vietnam's group fixtures with Thanh Nien's notes on each opponent:
| Date | Kick-off | Opponent | About the opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 November | 20:00 | Belgium | Known for the strength of European youth development |
| 23 November | 22:30 | New Zealand | 2026 Oceania U17 champions after a 2-0 win over New Caledonia in the final |
| 26 November | 20:00 | Mali | Top seeds before the draw, seen as the strongest team in the group |
How Vietnam can reach the knockouts
The 2026 edition has 48 teams in 12 groups. The top two in each group plus the 8 best third-placed teams go through to a round of 32, so 32 of the 48 teams advance and 8 of the 12 third-placed sides survive.
Thanh Nien's view is that Vietnam do not have to finish in the top two. In theory, a win and a draw could give them a strong chance, and even 3 points might be enough to compete for a best-third place, depending on the other groups. The paper expects Vietnam to defend compactly and counter-attack against Belgium and Mali, and sees New Zealand as the opponent they most clearly need to take points from, while warning that the Oceania champions have reasons to be confident. That makes the result against New Zealand, and goal difference, potentially decisive.
Coach Cristiano Roland, who is Brazilian, and his staff have worked on fitness, tactics and the players' mental preparation. Roland has acknowledged that all three group games will be difficult.
Broadcast rights
According to Thanh Nien, three domestic media companies bought one shared rights package rather than splitting it, to reduce the cost for each. The article did not name them; its headline says they are about to announce the deal. All three group games fall in the evening in Vietnam.
What comes next
The opener against Belgium on 20 November is the immediate target. Ticket information is in our earlier report, FIFA ticket prices for Vietnam's U17 World Cup games. Fixtures and results for all Vietnam teams are on the Vietnam national team fixtures page.