Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Nguyen Xuan Vu said that it is necessary to look at the results of U20 Vietnam frankly but comprehensively.
The performance results of the Vietnam U20 team at the 2027 AFC U20 Championship Qualifiers do not meet the expectations of fans as well as the professional goals set by the VFF. However, when evaluating a youth team, it is necessary to fully recognize both the results, the preparation context as well as objective and subjective professional factors," said Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vu.
Youth training problem
According to the VFF Vice President, this failure shows that youth training needs to be carried out in a continuous and systematic direction, instead of focusing short-term on each tournament.
This failure points to a core lesson: youth training needs to be continuous and systematic instead of focused on short-term goals," Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vu shared.
Developed football backgrounds in Asia such as Japan and South Korea have built a continuous training system from school football, academies, youth teams to professional football and national teams. This is a process that requires long-term and synchronous investment.
VFF has strengthened cooperation with the Japan Football Association (JFA) in recent times, including the participation of Japanese experts in football development. Technical Director Koshida Takeshi and experts and advisors are supporting the standardization of coach training and building orientations for youth teams.
At the U17 and U20 levels, the approach of modern training methods is expected to help players improve their football thinking, discipline and physical foundation. However, changes in youth training take time to create clear effects.
No strongest force
Besides the internal limitations, U20 Vietnam also faced many difficulties in the process of preparing for the qualifiers.
The team only had two relatively short training sessions, about 15 days and 7 days respectively. Lack of time makes it difficult for the coaching staff to build a playing style and create cohesion between players.
Notably, U20 Vietnam does not have the strongest force. Nguyen Bao Ngoc, Hoang Minh Hoi, Nguyen Tan Minh were absent; Tran Quoc Hoa suffered an injury, and Nguyen Le Phat had to return to the club.
Besides, Group C has the presence of strong opponents. U20 Iran is the leading youth team in the continent, U20 DPRK owns many players who have participated in the FIFA U17 World Cup, while U20 Palestine has a systematic international preparation and training process.
Objective difficulties are not used to evade professional responsibility, but ignoring the context will lead to an incomplete view of the U20 Vietnam team and the efforts of the young players through the recent qualifying round," Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vu emphasized.
Towards long-term goals
With youth football, achievements in a tournament are not the only goal. More importantly, it is to create players who are capable of developing to higher levels and becoming a resource for the national team.
The ultimate goal of youth football is not necessarily temporary achievement, but to provide quality factors for the national team in the future," VFF Vice President Nguyen Xuan Vu said.
Therefore, VFF and training centers and clubs need to continue to review the entire player development process, from selection, training, nutrition, sports medicine to actual competition opportunities in the V.League.
The failure at the 2027 AFC U20 Championship Qualifiers is a regrettable result, but it can also become a necessary lesson. If viewed receptively and transformed into specific adjustments, the experiences from the tournament will contribute to helping Vietnamese youth football build a more sustainable foundation in the future.
