Live draw for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers: Could Vietnam U20 land in an easy group?

This afternoon, May 28, marks the draw event for the 2026 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers, which includes Vietnam U20.

When and where will the draw for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers be held?

At 2:00 PM today (May 28), the group draw for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers will be held at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Vietnam U20 is placed in Pot 2 and also serves as one of the host nations for the qualifying stage groups.

Playing at home is considered a major advantage for Vietnam U20 in their bid for a ticket to the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup finals. The team's core will likely be players from the Vietnam U19 squad, who are currently gaining experience at the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship.

The 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers feature a historic change never seen before.

The highlight of this year's competition is the AFC's first-ever adoption of a two-tier model: the Qualifying Stage and the Development Stage. Accordingly, the 32 higher-ranked teams will compete in the Qualifying Stage, divided into 8 groups of 4, with each group playing a single round-robin in a centralized format to determine points.

Meanwhile, the remaining 12 teams will contest the Development Stage under a similar format, consisting of 3 groups. This is seen as a new move by the AFC to create a tiered system and enhance competition among Asia's youth football nations.

Vietnam U20 participates in the Qualifying Stage and is seeded 14th in Asia by the AFC based on their performances at the 2023 and 2025 U20 Asian Cups and the 2018 U19 Asian Cup. The squad led by the head coach is in Pot 2 alongside Qatar, Indonesia, Syria, Thailand, Yemen, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan.

Noteworthy information ahead of the draw for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers.

As announced by the AFC, Vietnam is one of the eight countries hosting the Qualifying Stage groups, alongside Bahrain, Cambodia, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Qatar, Thailand, and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, Bhutan, Mongolia, and Myanmar will host the Development Stage groups.

Regarding the draw principle, host teams will be separated into different groups before the AFC draws from Pot 4 to Pot 1. As a Pot 2 team, Vietnam U20 will automatically be placed in the second position of their group.

Under the competition format, the 8 group winners and the 7 best runners-up from the Qualifying Stage will qualify for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup finals, alongside the automatically qualified host nation. Conversely, the 6 lowest-ranked teams will be relegated to the Development Stage in the next cycle. The 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers are scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 6, 2026.