Vietnam U20 ended their 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifying campaign in Phu Tho with three straight defeats. In their final match on September 6, Yutaka Ikeuchi's side lost 3-1 to Iran U20, missing out on a place in the finals and suffering relegation for the next edition, meaning they will be unable to compete for qualification to the 2029 AFC U20 Asian Cup finals.
After the match, captain Nguyen Quoc Khanh expressed apologies. "We are truly disappointed, not only me personally but also my teammates and the coaching staff. Everyone worked extremely hard. I could see the effort and diligence of the whole team," he said.
Vietnam U20 captain Nguyen Quoc Khanh (Photo: Do Minh Quan).
Quoc Khanh apologised to supporters and to future Vietnam U20 generations, saying: "On behalf of the entire Vietnam U20 team, I apologise to the fans, those who have loved, supported and always stood by us. I also want to apologise to future Vietnam U20 generations because we did not complete our task."
"This defeat will be a springboard for us to learn from our mistakes and become better players in the future," Quoc Khanh said.
Meanwhile, Yutaka Ikeuchi also apologised to supporters after the team failed to meet its target. "We considered different options to achieve the best possible result, but unfortunately that objective was not fulfilled. I feel deeply regretful and would like to apologise to the fans," he said.
Although the team failed to progress from qualifying, the Japanese coach praised his players' potential and said matches against strong opponents in Group C had provided an important opportunity for them to gain experience.
"I believe this group of players absolutely has a future and room to develop. However, what they most clearly lack at this stage is competitive match experience. Facing strong opponents in this tournament has been a valuable lesson and an important accumulation of experience to help them mature," Yutaka Ikeuchi said.
