Cristiano Roland of Brazil named as head coach of Vietnam U16 team

Cristiano Roland is a retired Brazilian footballer who previously played as a left-back. He is currently the head coach of Hanoi FC’s youth team and the assistant coach of Vietnam’s national U17 team.

He started his career in Brazil before heading to Portugal in 1998 when he signed with Beira-Mar, winning a Portuguese Cup in 1999 and transferring to giants Benfica in 2002 where he won another Portuguese Cup in 2004. In 2007, he moved to the V-League, playing for Hanoi T&T on two football seasons, winning three major titles in the process.

Vietnam’s U16 squad are scheduled to gather together in early August to participate in a friendly tournament in China followed by a training camp in Japan.

The Brazilian coach will lead Vietnam’s U16s in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U17 Asian Cup 2025 qualifiers which are due to take place in Malaysia from October 19 to 27.

Vietnam will play alongside Yemen, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar in Group I.

As many as 43 teams have been divided into 10 groups, with the best 10 teams and five second-placed teams going through to the final round to be held in Saudi Arabia.

The top eight teams from the Asian tournament will also qualify for the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar as the AFC representatives, alongside hosts Qatar.