Vietnam's U20 women's team is in the same group as Thailand, aiming for a World Cup ticket.
AFC draws for the 2026 AFC U20 Women's Championship: Vietnam placed in Group A alongside Thailand, China, and Bangladesh; Coach Masahiko Okiyama aims for first-ever appearance at the Women's U20 World Cup.
On the afternoon of November 10th, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted the draw for the 2026 AFC U20 Women's Championship. The Vietnam U20 women's team was placed in Group A alongside host nation Thailand, China, and Bangladesh. Coach Masahiko Okiyama affirmed his desire to lead the team to qualify for the 2026 Women's U20 World Cup.
Draw results: Vietnam is in Group A along with Thailand, China, and Bangladesh.
In Group A, the Chinese U20 women's team is considered a strong contender. In the qualifying round, they won all three matches, scoring 21 goals and conceding none.
The Vietnam U20 women's team and the Thailand U20 women's team are familiar rivals at youth levels in Southeast Asia. Most recently, in the 2025 Southeast Asian U19 Women's Championship final held in June 2025 at Thong Nhat Stadium, Thailand won 3-1.
Match schedule for Vietnam U20 women's team in order of matches
The order of matches for the Vietnam U20 women's team in Group A, as shared by the coaching staff, is as follows:
| Match | Competitor |
|---|---|
| 1 | China |
| 2 | Thailand |
| 3 | Bangladesh |
Statement by Coach Masahiko Okiyama
The head coach of the Vietnam U20 women's national team said: “Now that the draw results and the order of the matches have been decided, first of all, to prepare for the first match against China, I want to thoroughly analyze our opponent. The second match will be against the host country, Thailand. I want to turn the disappointment from the 2025 Southeast Asian U19 Championship into motivation to prepare and win.”
In our third match against Bangladesh, the whole team will be determined to win all three points to achieve our goal of advancing to the quarter-finals and aiming for further objectives. We will prepare carefully together to seize the opportunity to participate in the World Cup for the first time.”
Format and qualification for the 2026 Women's U20 World Cup.
According to the regulations, teams will compete in a single round-robin format in the group stage. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the quarterfinals. The finals will be held in Thailand from April 1st to April 18th, 2026.
The 2026 AFC U20 Women's Championship also serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2026 U20 Women's World Cup. The four teams that reach the semi-finals will represent Asia at the World Cup. If they achieve this goal, it will be the first time the Vietnamese U20 women's team has participated in a world-class competition.
