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Vietnam Under-20 team relegated after three straight losses, coach Yutaka Ikeuchi should leave

From Tuổi Trẻ · () Vietnamese

Translated from Vietnamese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Named sources Outcome reported
  • Vietnam’s Under-20 team lost 3-1 to Iran in its final Group C qualifier, ending the home qualifying campaign with three defeats and elimination from the 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup.
  • The team finished last in the group with two goals scored and eight conceded, and will drop to a development round for weaker teams.
  • The article criticizes coach Yutaka Ikeuchi and argues that he should take responsibility after the disappointing campaign.

Vietnam’s Under-20 team ended its home qualifying campaign with three losses and a demotion to the development round. The 3-1 defeat to Iran on September 6 completed a deeply disappointing run for a side that had hoped to remain in contention for the 2027 AFC U-20 Asian Cup.

Vietnam took the lead in the 40th minute through Quốc Khánh, but Iran scored three times after halftime. Two of those goals came from penalties, in the 62nd minute and deep into stoppage time at 90+5. The result left Vietnam last in Group C, with two goals scored and eight conceded.

The team’s fate had effectively been sealed in the previous match against Palestine, an opponent Vietnam was expected to challenge directly. A 2-1 defeat meant the team could no longer control its own prospects of avoiding relegation. The opening 3-0 loss to North Korea had already prompted explanations about unavailable players, limited preparation time, injuries and Nguyễn Lê Phát’s return to his club, Ninh Bình.

Yet the article points to a troubling contrast. Many of these players had previously performed strongly against Australia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates at the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup under Brazilian coach Cristiano Roland. Under Ikeuchi, they produced performances described as unexpectedly poor, even though the coach acknowledged that the group contained promising players.

The setback looks worse beside the progress of regional rivals Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, all of whom reached the finals. Indonesia made the strongest impression by beating defending champion Australia 2-0. After the Iran defeat, Ikeuchi said he would review the campaign with the Vietnamese players and had no plans for his next step in Vietnamese youth football. The article argues that, given the scale of the failure, he should follow Japan’s tradition of resigning and accepting responsibility.

After this tournament, I will review things with the Vietnamese players. I do not yet have any plans for my next step in Vietnamese youth football.

· Yutaka IkeuchiThe coach spoke after Vietnam’s 3-1 loss to Iran.
About this summary

Originally published by Tuổi Trẻ in Vietnamese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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