OFFICIAL: AFC makes final decision, Vietnam suffers major disadvantage

AFC decides not to add a replacement team for Philippines in the 2026 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers, making it difficult for U20 Vietnam to advance.

According to an announcement from AFC, Philippines U20 will no longer participate in Group A of the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers. After this team withdrew, the group now has only three contenders: South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, and Lebanon. This also means that the match schedule and competition format in Group A will be adjusted to fit the number of participating teams.

However, the Asian Football Confederation decided not to add any additional teams from the development stage to the qualifying round to replace the Philippines. Therefore, the number of teams in Group A remains at three. This significantly affects the chances of advancing for the participating teams, including U20 Vietnam.

According to the tournament format, the 32 teams in the qualifying stage are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each, playing a single round-robin from August 31 to September 6, 2026. At the end of the qualifiers, the 8 group winners and the 7 best runners-up will qualify for the 2027 AFC U20 Asian Cup finals in China.

With Group A having only three teams, when comparing the performances of the 7 best runners-up among the remaining groups, the results against the last-placed team in each group will not be counted. U20 Vietnam is in a tough group facing Iran, North Korea, and Palestine. Among them, Palestine is considered the weakest in the group, presenting an opportunity for U20 Vietnam to easily secure three points.

If they cannot top the group given the presence of North Korea and Iran, U20 Vietnam will face a disadvantage when comparing results with other runners-up, as the result against the group's last-placed team will not be counted. U20 Vietnam's group was already difficult, and the withdrawal of Philippines makes things even harder.

However, U20 Vietnam also has another significant advantage: they will host Group C of the 2026 AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers at home. The matches will be held at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho, helping U20 Vietnam prepare best for the games.