Yutaka Ikeuchi, the head coach of Vietnam's U20 football team, has recently come under fire following a series of disappointing performances, including a 1-3 defeat against U20 Iran. This has led to increased scrutiny regarding his coaching credentials, particularly given claims that he had not led any team for 16 years prior to his appointment with the U20 squad.

According to ASEAN Football, Ikeuchi, who is 65 years old, was introduced to Vietnamese football by the Japan Football Association (JFA). Despite his long absence from leading a team, his coaching history includes overseeing Japan's U15, U16, and U17 teams from 2007 to 2009. Under his guidance, the U17 team participated in the FIFA U17 World Cup in Nigeria in 2009, featuring future stars such as Takashi Usami and Gaku Shibasaki.

After stepping away from direct coaching roles with national youth teams, Ikeuchi held various positions within the JFA, including Deputy Director of Youth Development from 2014 to 2017 and Director of Youth Development from 2018 to 2021. He continued to be involved in coaching, leading the U15 team at JFA Academy Fukushima EAST from 2021 to 2022, and he is set to guide the U15 team from 2023 to 2024.

In early 2025, Ikeuchi took on the role of technical supervisor for Vietnam's U17 team, marking his return to coaching at the international level. However, his tenure with the U20 team has not yielded the expected results. From 2025 to 2026, he has worked with Vietnam's youth teams, including U18, U19, and U20, but these teams have struggled to achieve success.

During the 2026 Southeast Asian U19 Championship, Vietnam's U19 team was eliminated in the group stage, despite earlier victories against Timor Leste and Myanmar. In the 2027 AFC U20 Championship qualifiers, the U20 team lost all three matches against North Korea, Iran, and Palestine, resulting in their relegation.

Following the loss to U20 Iran, Ikeuchi expressed disappointment, stating, "In the first half, we scored, which was a good sign. However, we could not maintain our performance in the second half. I regret this. The current U20 group has many promising players, but they lack opportunities to compete against stronger opponents. If they had more matches, they would improve further." He also noted that the team was not at full strength due to club commitments, which affected player availability.