Vietnam are grouped with Laos, Singapore, Myanmar and East Timor in the forthcoming Southeast Asian under-17 football in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from August 19 to September 1.

Accordingly, Vietnam will have to compete with four opponents in Group B for a berth in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Group A features teams from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

As scheduled, the Vietnamese team will start their campaign of defending their title with Singapore on August 20, East Timore on August 22, Myanmar on August 24 and strong opponent Laos in their final match on August 28.

The team will compete on a round-robin basis with winners and runners-up of each group advancing to the semi-finals.

Vietnam won the 2006 Southeast Asian under-17 championship as the hosts of the tournament. In their final game, they lost 2-0 to Laos, who are considered top opponents for Vietnam in their campaign.

In preparation for the event, the Vietnamese team will be called up after the national under-15 tournament, which will take place in July, with outstanding players being called up for the team.