Vietnamese fans outnumbered Chinese fans in the stadium.

Vietnam U23 - Photo 1.

Vietnamese fans interact with Chinese fans before the match - Photo: QUANG HỮU & HOÀNG GIÀU

The Vietnam U23 and China U23 teams will meet in the semi-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship at 10:30 PM today (January 20).

But two hours before kick-off, Vietnamese fans had already flocked to the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, ready to cheer on their team.

Having contacted each other beforehand, the group of five supporters from the Vietnam Football Supporters Association (VFS) who traveled from their homeland immediately blended into the large crowd of Vietnamese fans living and working in Saudi Arabia.

Believing in the abilities of the Vietnam U23 team, Vietnamese fans who traveled to Saudi Arabia joined other Vietnamese fans in offering their prepared offerings to pray for Coach Kim Sang Sik's team to have a successful match and win against China U23 to reach the final.

Despite being a small group, the VFS fan club brought everything they needed to cheer on their team in Saudi Arabia: drums, flags, and even...the championship trophy.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duy, who runs a spa in Hanoi, shared: "I brought this trophy with me twice: once when the Vietnamese national team won the ASEAN Cup 2024 and once when the U23 Vietnamese team won the gold medal at the SEA Games 33."

Vietnam U23 - Photo 2.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duy (in red shirt) and other fans in Saudi Arabia excitedly pose with the championship trophy - Photo: FBNV

This time it will definitely be the third championship for Coach Kim Sang Sik's team. Looking ahead, I believe Vietnam U23 will beat China U23 by a margin of two goals."

Duy also held the championship trophy and posed for photos with enthusiastic Saudi Arabian and even Chinese fans before entering the stadium.

Because the number of drums was small, the group reminded each other to cheer even more enthusiastically to reassure the players and help them focus on the game. Even so, the group almost couldn't use the drums when the drumsticks were confiscated by customs and wouldn't let them through.

"Therefore, when we went to Saudi Arabia, we had to quickly ask Vietnamese people to find and buy them. Luckily, we managed to buy two drumsticks to beat the drums to cheer on the players," Duy recounted.

Notably, five VFS supporters even brought branches of Japanese peach blossoms to the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium as a wish for victory and to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Mr. Vu Quang Huu ( from Hai Phong ) - who personally went to Hanoi to buy peach blossom branches from Nhat Tan - shared: "Peach blossom branches are a symbol of Tet reunion, of the atmosphere of home that the players can hardly fully experience in a foreign land. People know that I chose peach blossom branches to bring to Saudi Arabia to cheer on the team, and they also entrust their belief in victory to it."

Vietnam U23 team - Photo 3.