According to Lao Dong's source, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) will re-evaluate the entire competition process of U20 Vietnam and the work of coach Yutaka Ikeuchi, in which analyze what has been done as well as the remaining limitations.
The job transfer plan of the Japanese expert may be considered after the review process.
Previously, U20 Vietnam finished the 2027 AFC U20 Championship qualifiers after 3 consecutive defeats. The home team successively lost to U20 DPRK 0-3, U20 Palestine 1-2 and U20 Iran 1-3, only scoring 2 goals but conceding 8 goals.
The above results also led to other consequences. U20 Vietnam was in the group of 6 teams with the lowest performance in the qualifiers and had to play in Development Phase (Development group).
According to the new AFC format applied from the 2027 AFC U20 Championship, teams are divided into qualifying groups and Development groups based on the achievements of previous tournaments.
The new format of AFC is built to create more competition opportunities for teams with different levels. In the qualifying round, 32 teams are divided into 8 groups, playing in a single round-robin format. The top 8 teams and 7 second-placed teams with the best results win the right to enter the final round.
U20 Vietnam will not be able to participate in the 2029 AFC U20 Championship qualifiers. To return to the qualifiers, the team must achieve good enough results in the Development group to win a ticket to participate in the 2031 qualifiers. This is also the time when the U17 Vietnam players who participated in the World Cup will enter the U20 age group.
Mr. Yutaka Ikeuchi was born in 1961, played for Fujita (Shonan Bellmare's predecessor) from 1980 - 1996 and wore the Japanese national team jersey for 5 years. He has played for the national high school team and Japan U20.
This expert signed a contract with VFF from February 2025 and made contributions to the journey of U17 Vietnam at the 2025 AFC U17 Championship finals.
