U20 Vietnam fails due to many disadvantages
Expert Doan Minh Xuong believes that the failure of U20 Vietnam in the 2027 AFC U20 Championship qualifiers is a lesson to review the preparation, youth training and development orientation of Vietnamese football.
U20 Vietnam closed the qualifying round with 3 consecutive defeats, ranking last in Group C. According to Mr. Xuong, the team faces many disadvantages when being in the same group as Iran and North Korea, strong opponents in terms of physique, speed and international competition experience.
The preparation time is also too short, with the first phase about 15 days and the second phase only 7 days. Meanwhile, the team does not have the strongest force because many clubs are preparing for the 2026-2027 V.League. Some players cannot be called up to the national team, others are injured or have to return to their clubs.
In the eyes of fans, football must win. But for those who work in youth training, failure is also valuable if we look back at training, preparation and orientation for the future," Mr. Xuong assessed.
With the above reasons, it is very difficult to demand a perfect U20 team that can achieve results in the qualifiers," he said.
Change of coach, unclear playing style
Mr. Doan Minh Xuong also said that the change of coach was somewhat hasty. Cristiano Roland once helped U17 Vietnam win the Southeast Asian Championship and win the right to participate in the U17 World Cup 2025, but did not continue to lead the U20 generation. Instead, it was Japanese coach Yutaka Ikeuchi.
According to Mr. Xuong, the transfer may be within the orientation towards the 2034 World Cup, but creates a tactical break.
Under Roland, players played a certain type of tactics. When it came to coach Ikeuchi, it was a different philosophy. Simply put, if the new was not learned, the old was lost," he analyzed.
He believes that U20 Vietnam does not have a clear playing style. In the 0-3 defeat to North Korea, the team should have defended and counter-attacked instead of tensing up to play against a powerful opponent, leading to fatigue in the second half.
In the 1-3 reverse defeat to Iran, bringing center-back Dinh Quang Kiet to play as a striker at the end of the match also showed that the team lacked cohesion and appropriate tactical plans.
Football has two halves, it is necessary to calculate tactics and people suitable for all opponents to have the best results," Mr. Xuong said.
However, this expert believes that responsibility should not be blamed on young players. The problem lies in how to build the team, choose tactics and prepare forces.
Youth training needs a continuous system
According to Mr. Xuong, the failure of U20 Vietnam also affects the international competition opportunities of young players. From there, Vietnamese football needs to review the systematic nature of training.
He takes Japan as an example when teams from youth level to national teams are built on a unified philosophy and playing system. Players are trained according to the requirements of each position, so they can quickly adapt when joining the national team.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese centers and clubs still have different training methods, causing the national team to spend more time building their playing style.
Youth training does not necessarily have to put immediate achievements first. But there must be a clear orientation to form a player model for the national team," Mr. Xuong said.
According to this expert, players need to be trained according to their characteristics and strengths. Dinh Quang Kiet has good physique, so he needs to be oriented to become a good center-back, instead of just being put up to play as a striker when the team is short of players.
Mr. Doan Minh Xuong said that the Vietnam Football Federation, clubs and coaching staff need to unify the philosophy and training model.
The root cause is that the youth training of Vietnamese football today is not systematic," Mr. Xuong emphasized.
