Vietnam U20 relegation puts coach Yutaka Ikeuchi’s future in doubt

Vietnam completed a disastrous qualifying campaign with a 1-3 comeback defeat to Iran U20 at Viet Tri Stadium in northern Phu Tho Province on Sunday evening.

Quoc Khanh gave the hosts the lead in the 40th minute, but Iran struck three times after the break, including two penalties in the 62nd minute and deep into stoppage time.

The defeat left Ikeuchi’s side bottom of Group C without a point, having scored just two goals and conceded eight.

More painfully, Vietnam U20 have also been relegated to a development round for lower-ranked teams to be held in two years.

They will then have to fight their way back into the qualifiers four years from now to keep alive hopes of reaching the 2031 AFC U20 Asian Cup finals.

In fact, Ikeuchi’s side did not need to wait until the final match against Iran to learn their fate.

Their hopes of staying in the main qualifying competition had already been dealt a major blow in the second game, when they lost 1-2 to a relatively evenly matched Palestine side.

The poor campaign has put Ikeuchi’s position under scrutiny, particularly because many players in the current squad had performed strongly against Australia, Japan, and the UAE at the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup under Brazilian coach Cristiano Roland.

Under Ikeuchi, however, the same generation struggled for form and cohesion despite the Japanese coach acknowledging that the squad included several promising players.

The coaching staff pointed to limited preparation time, injuries, and unavailable players as factors behind the disappointing results.

But Vietnam’s failure stands in sharp contrast with regional rivals Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, all of whom secured places in the finals. Indonesia also produced an upset by beating defending champions Australia 2-0.

“After this tournament, I will review the campaign with the Vietnamese players. I have no plans yet for what comes next in Vietnamese youth football,” Ikeuchi said after the loss to Iran.

With Vietnam suffering elimination and relegation on home soil, questions are now growing over whether Ikeuchi should remain in charge of the country’s youth team.