Vietnamese Youth Football Faces a Lost Generation at U20 Level

Vietnam’s U20 team finished bottom of Group C in the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers, losing all three matches at Việt Trì Stadium in Phú Thọ. It was the second consecutive time Vietnam failed to reach the finals, and the result was worse than the nine points earned from four matches in the 2025 qualifiers.

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Objectively, this group was difficult. Apart from U20 Palestine, which was considered weaker, North Korea and Iran both come from football systems more developed than Vietnam’s. But the subjective factor was even greater.

The setback contrasts sharply with Vietnam’s breakthrough in 2016. That year, the U19 team beat North Korea 2-1, drew 1-1 with the United Arab Emirates and drew 0-0 with Iraq in the Asian U19 Championship group stage. It then defeated Bahrain 1-0 in the quarterfinals to qualify for the 2017 U20 World Cup for the first time.

Since that achievement, Vietnam’s U19 and U20 teams have reached the Asian finals only twice, in 2018 and 2023, and exited at the group stage on both occasions. Their regional record has also declined. In seven Southeast Asian U19 tournaments during this period, Vietnam finished third twice, in 2016 and 2022, and otherwise went out in the group stage. The current U20 team was the same group that exited the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 tournament after a 2-1 defeat by Indonesia in the decisive match.

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We did not seriously learn from being eliminated early in the group stage of the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 Championship.

Expert Đoàn Minh Xương said the latest failure had both objective and subjective causes. He acknowledged that North Korea and Iran came from more developed football systems, while Palestine was considered weaker, but said Vietnam’s lack of preparation was the bigger problem. He argued that the Vietnam Football Federation should have required clubs to release players because the competition format had changed and strong opponents created relegation risks.

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Vietnam’s U20 team looked as if it had no method at all.

Xương also blamed head coach Yutaka Ikeuchi for failing to establish a consistent approach. “Vietnam’s U20 team looked as if it had no method at all,” he said, arguing that the players did not know whether they should defend and counterattack or build attacks. He described the defeat as a valuable lesson for Vietnamese football.

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With the players available, the U20 team failed to establish a main style of play or adapt to each opponent, which is clearly the coach’s fault.