SURPRISE: Vietnam's squad value is lower than East Timor's at the Southeast Asian tournament

Transfermarkt's squad valuation table has caused surprise as Vietnam's U19 team ranks below East Timor's U19 at the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship. However, these figures do not fully represent the squad's true strength.

According to newly updated data from the transfer specialist site Transfermarkt, Vietnam's U19 squad has a total value of 25,000 Euros at the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship. This figure places Coach Yutaka Ikeuchi's side sixth among the valued teams in the tournament, even lower than East Timor's U19.

The squad value ranking shows Australia's U19 leading with a valuation of up to 2.65 million Euros. Right behind is Thailand's U19 with 400,000 Euros. The following positions belong to Indonesia's U19 (360,000 Euros), Singapore's U19 (55,000 Euros), East Timor's U19 (45,000 Euros), and Vietnam's U19 (25,000 Euros), tied with Myanmar's U19. However, behind these numbers lies a notable story about how Southeast Asian youth teams are tracked and assessed by Transfermarkt.

In reality, Vietnam's U19 ranking relatively low on the valuation table does not mean the team has a weaker squad than its opponents. This is also the most striking detail when looking at the squad value list for the 2026 ASEAN U19 Championship.

The main reason is that most young players in the Southeast Asian region have not been fully updated by Transfermarkt. Many players still lack detailed profiles or enough information to be assigned a value. Even within Vietnam's U19, only central midfielder Nguyen Van Khanh of Hong Linh Ha Tinh has been given a price tag of 25,000 Euros. This means the current total squad value of Vietnam's U19 essentially reflects the value of just one individual rather than the entire team.

In addition, the Vietnam U19 team participating in this tournament is also missing a series of prominent faces such as center-back Quang Kiet, defender Le Kha Duc, winger Le Van Thuan, striker Tran Gia Bao, and midfielder Nguyen Cong Phuong. Furthermore, the group of overseas Vietnamese players including Antonio Moric, Gavin Turner, Simon Vu, Khoa Ngo, Lee Williams, and Lenn Minh Tran are also absent due to club commitments or unresolved nationality issues.

Despite not being highly rated in terms of transfer value, Vietnam's U19 has started the tournament impressively. In the opening match on June 1, Coach Yutaka Ikeuchi's squad secured a 3-0 victory over East Timor's U19. This result puts them level on top of Group A with host Indonesia's U19, both having 3 points and a similar goal difference. On June 4, Vietnam's U19 will face Myanmar's U19 before entering what is expected to be a decisive match against Indonesia's U19 on June 7 in the race for the top spot in the group.