Dinh Bac returns to the list of U22 Vietnam to prepare for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Tournament

Dinh Bac (right) and Khuat Van Khang are both on the list of the Vietnam U22 team. (Photo: VNA)

On the afternoon of June 20, head coach Kim Sang-sik announced the list of 35 players for the 3rd training session of 2025 of the Vietnam U22 Team, preparing for the journey to defend the championship title at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.

Notably, striker Nguyen Dinh Bac was named in the call-up list after a period of injury treatment. The striker born in 2004 suffered a broken fifth toe during the training camp in March and is expected to be out for at least 3 months.

However, Dinh Bac's recovery process has been more positive than expected. The player of the Hanoi Police Club is considered the brightest discovery of Vietnamese football in recent years with good personal technique, diverse finishing ability and modern football thinking.

Dinh Bac left his mark at the National Team level with a goal against the Philippines in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and a beautiful goal against Japan in the 2023 Asian Cup Finals.

The list of players this time also includes two promising overseas Vietnamese players: midfielder Le Viktor (Hong Linh Ha Tinh Club) and striker Bui Alex (team B of Bohemians Praha 1905, playing in the Czech Republic's Third Division).

Le Viktor is performing well in the V-League and has participated in recent training sessions, while Bui Alex just had his first try with U22 Vietnam in the training session at the end of May and the beginning of June.

Le Viktor (No. 11) integrates well into the training sessions of U22 Vietnam. (Photo: Viet Anh/Vietnam+)

In addition, "coach Kim" also added to the list of players who contributed to the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, including: goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien; defender Nguyen Hong Phuc; midfielders Nguyen Van Truong, Khuat Van Khang, Dinh Xuan Tien; and three strikers Nguyen Dang Duong, Le Dinh Long Vu and Nguyen Quoc Viet.

Another notable young player in this training session is midfielder Nguyen Ngoc My of Dong A Thanh Hoa Club. This is the "rising star" who helped U19 Dong A Thanh Hoa win the 2023 National U19 Championship and was honored as the best player of the tournament.

In 2024, Ngoc My continued to win the title of top scorer at the National U21 Tournament, making a great contribution to helping U21 Dong A Thanh Hoa win the Bronze medal. The player from Tinh Gia had the opportunity to wear the U23 Vietnam shirt for the first time during the training session in March 2025, but missed the appointment due to a serious injury in the match between Dong A Thanh Hoa and Hai Phong in the 1/8 round of the 2024-2025 National Cup.

This training session of the Vietnam U22 team lacks striker Bui Vi Hao. The striker, who belongs to Becamex Binh Duong Club, has competed in continental tournaments such as the U20 Asia, U23 Asia and ASIAD. However, at the end of March, Vi Hao suffered a serious injury that required surgery and is expected to take 10 months to fully recover.

List of players gathering for the 3rd/2025 training session of the Vietnam U22 Team to prepare for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. (Photo: VFF)

According to the plan, the Vietnam U22 team will gather again on June 26 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The team will train here until July 14 before leaving for Indonesia to participate in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, taking place from July 15 to 29. In the group stage, Vietnam will face Laos on July 19 and Cambodia on July 22.

At the U23 Southeast Asian arena, the U23 Vietnam team won the championship twice in a row in 2022 and 2023./.