Football

PHÚ THỌ — Việt Nam will face strong North Korea in the first match of the AFC U20 Asian Cup 2027 qualification's Group C today.

Taking place for a 23rd time since being introduced in 1980, this iteration of the qualification pathway offers 15 berths at next year’s Finals and sees the maiden implementation of a two-tiered format.

The Qualification Phase divides 31 teams across eight groups, with all group winners and the seven best second-placed teams advancing to join hosts China at the 43rd edition of the AFC U20 Asian Cup. Meanwhile, the six lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams are relegated to the Development Phase of the next Qualifiers.

Concurrently, the Development Phase features 11 teams that are split into three groups, with the first and second-placed teams of each group to be promoted to the Qualification Phase of the next Qualifiers.

Having missed out last year, Việt Nam face with big trouble in their 21st qualifier at home – Việt Trì Stadium in Phú Thọ Province.

In addition to three-time champions, North Korea, the hosts will also play four-time winners Iran in the next match. The rest side, Palestines, are determined to make their Finals debuts.

“First of all, I am happy when Việt Nam will play on home turf this tournament. My team have received strong support from the Việt Nam Football Federation and clubs to have best training conditions," said head coach Yutaka Ikeuchi.

"We have done our preparation and are ready to find a slot in the Finals."

With many players in his squad are picked from the U19 squad who were just disqualified from the recent Southeast Asian U29 Football Championship, Ikeuchi said the defeat brought many lessons and experience for both coaches and players. They found their weaknesses and tried to fix them and hope to have better performance at the AFC event.

The Japanese coach appreciated North Korea, saying that they were powerful team with iron mind and impressive physique.

His assistants met difficulty to collect the Korean information. Plans were built based on their limited data and coaches' experience.

“North Korea are very strong opponent. They always display a physical style of play and strong spirit, so this certainly won’t be an easy match. We have prepared our utmost to face them,” he said. — VNS