OFFICIAL: U20 Vietnam Receive Key Decision from AFC

The Vietnamese U20 side will be among the second‑seeded teams when the groups for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualification are drawn on May 28.

The draw ceremony for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers will be held at 2:00 PM tomorrow (May 28) at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The U20 Vietnam team has been placed in Pot 2 and will play as the host nation in its group, which is being organized by the Vietnam Football Federation.

A new feature of this year’s tournament is that the AFC is implementing a two‑tier competition for the first time, consisting of the Qualification Phase and the Development Phase. In the Qualification Phase, the 32 highest‑ranked teams will be divided into eight groups of four, playing a single round‑robin format. The remaining 12 teams will take part in the Development Phase, split into three groups of four.

The U20 Vietnam team is placed in the Qualification Phase group and has been seeded 14th in Asia by the AFC based on its performances in the last three editions: the 2023 and 2025 AFC U20 Asian Cups and the 2018 AFC U19 Championship. With this ranking, U20 Vietnam is therefore in Pot 2, alongside the U20 teams of Qatar, Indonesia, Syria, Thailand, Yemen, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan.

According to the AFC announcement, Vietnam is also one of eight countries hosting a group in the Qualification Phase, alongside Bahrain, Cambodia, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Qatar, Thailand, and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, Bhutan, Mongolia, and Myanmar will host the groups for the Development Phase.

Regarding the draw procedure, host teams will be placed in a separate pot to ensure that each host is in a different group. The AFC will then draw teams starting from Pot 4 up to Pot 1. Since U20 Vietnam is in Pot 2, it will be automatically assigned to position 2 in its group.

Under the tournament format, the eight group winners and the seven best‑placed runners‑up from the Qualification Phase will advance to the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup finals (the finals host is granted automatic qualification). In addition, the six lowest‑ranked last‑placed teams will be relegated to the Development Phase for the next cycle. Conversely, the three group winners and the three best runners‑up from the Development Phase will be promoted to the Qualification Phase for the following cycle.

The 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers will be held from August 31 to September 6, 2026. The U20 Vietnam team will enter the competition with its core squad being the U19 Vietnam players who are currently gaining experience at the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship.