Japan have already qualified for the 2014 U19 Asian Football Championship (AFC Cup) after outclassing Macau 6-0 and Malaysia 5-1 and drawing 1-1 against China in their qualifiers.

The Japanese side said they consider the Nutifood Cup a test for U19 Japan in the lead up to the AFC Cup 2014 in Myanmar in October.

Earlier, U19 Barcelona accepted the VFF’s invitation to take part in the tournament. The club’s leadership said they will send the strongest line-up to the event.

Coached by Jordi Vinyals, U19 Barcelona are playing at the UEFA Youth League, and they smashed U19 AC Milan 6-2 in their latest UEFA League game.

The VFF is awaiting a response from U19 Arsenal who are also playing at the UEFA Youth League.  

Four football teams will compete at the Nutifood Cup due to take place in HCM City from January 6-10, 2014.