Vietnam U23 in an emotional match against South Korea U23 - Photo: AFC
In particular, the emotionally charged third-place match against South Korea U23 (which ended in the early hours of January 24th, Vietnam time) was a highlight.
I believe that through experiences like this, young Vietnamese players will mature. And this will be an opportunity for them to continue developing further in the future.
Coach Kim Sang Sik
Playing with 10 men from the 87th minute after Dinh Bac received a red card, the Vietnam U23 team fought to the very end in two extra time periods and ultimately won 7-6 in the penalty shootout.
An emotional journey
The bronze medal that the Vietnam U23 team will win in 2026 may not be as significant as the silver medal of 2018 in terms of achievement, but it will still make Vietnamese fans proud.
This is because coach Kim Sang Sik has achieved something that his compatriot and senior coach Park Hang Seo has never done: defeating the South Korean U23 team in an official tournament on their very first encounter.
But it was the way the Vietnam U23 team fought and won against their strong opponent, South Korea U23, that truly brought emotion and pride.
Despite their solid defense being weakened by the absence of Hieu Minh and Ly Duc due to injury and suspension, coach Kim Sang Sik's team did not choose to retreat into a defensive posture but were ready to push forward in search of goals.
Vietnam U23 took the lead twice, but unfortunately, South Korea U23 equalized both times, including a 2-2 equalizer in the final minute of injury time.
Playing with 10 men in two extra time periods is no easy feat. Especially when the Vietnam U23 team was left with only one true center-back, Hieu Minh, after Le Van Ha (64th minute) and Duc Anh (94th minute) both had to leave the field due to exhaustion.
Coach Kim had to bring in right-back Minh Phuc (1.72m) and striker Thanh Nhan (1.73m) to play center-back, but they still managed to keep the Vietnam U23 team standing firm.
"When Dinh Bac received the red card, coach Kim Sang Sik, who substituted me in the 94th minute, instructed me to try to play defensively to protect the goal," recalled Thanh Nhan, the player who successfully converted the penalty to give Vietnam U23 the victory.
The Vietnam U23 team only controlled the ball 24.4% of the time compared to South Korea U23's 75.6%, and had 5 shots on goal compared to their opponents' 32. These statistics show just how brilliantly Coach Kim Sang Sik's team fought.
In that match, goalkeeper Cao Văn Bình made 10 saves and blocked one penalty kick, securing the first victory in 20 years against South Korea U23, a period in which they had lost more often than they drew.
The Vietnam U23 team had a memorable journey in Saudi Arabia, winning 5 out of 6 matches convincingly against opponents who were mostly considered stronger.
Their only defeat was against China U23, 0-3 in the semi-finals. But after that somewhat bitter defeat, Vietnam U23 still managed to bounce back strongly – a subtle sign of a strong team in the future.
Belief in the future
No longer a team solely focused on defense, the Vietnam U23 team has displayed a confident playing style and is ready to attack against any strong opponent.
The 10 goals scored in the tournament set a new record for the number of goals scored by Vietnamese football in continental youth competitions, surpassing the previous generation that finished as runners-up in the 2018 AFC U23 Championship by two goals.
Eight years ago, Quang Hai was the top scorer for the Vietnam U23 team with 5 goals, leading Vietnamese football to make history. And now it's Dinh Bac's turn to do the same. He scored 4 goals and led the Vietnam U23 team to great victories.
It's a shame for Dinh Bac that he wasn't in his best physical condition due to a groin muscle injury sustained after the second match, yet he still tried to play. Otherwise, the Vietnam U23 team could have dreamed of an even better result.
Dinh Bac's red card in his final youth tournament match will cause him to miss two matches for the Vietnamese national team, starting with the match against Malaysia in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup on March 31st, scheduled to be held at Thien Truong Stadium.
But he still has many opportunities in the Vietnamese national team, even a future star in the attack, in conquering continental achievements in the near future, based on what he showed at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.
However, under coach Kim Sang Sik, the Vietnam U23 team isn't just comprised of outstanding players like Dinh Bac. Players like Van Khang, Thai Son, Hieu Minh, Nhat Minh, and goalkeeper Trung Kien are all equally good and fully capable of shouldering responsibilities in the Vietnam national team in the future.
The strengths of the current Vietnam U23 team lie in their composure, excellent individual technique, ball control in tight spaces, and confident passing against strong opponents. The Vietnam U23 team has shown significant progress and is gradually rising to a higher level, making strong teams in the continent wary rather than being considered "underdogs."
That team also gave fans reason to believe that the Vietnamese national team can go further based on its own abilities, not just on a few flashes of brilliance in a few matches.
Third place gives the Vietnam U23 team an advantage.
Finishing third in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship could give the Vietnam U23 team a significant advantage in the next tournament. This is because the draw for the qualifying and final rounds of the AFC U23 Championship is always based on the teams' performance in the three most recent tournaments.
In the two most recent AFC U23 Asian Championships in 2024 and 2026, the Vietnam U23 team was seeded number 2 despite only reaching the quarterfinals. However, being seeded number 2 doesn't necessarily guarantee an advantage.
Indeed, looking back at this year's tournament, the Vietnam U23 team was drawn into a group with very strong teams like host Saudi Arabia and Jordan, while Kyrgyzstan was considered to be of a similar level.
But at least the Vietnam U23 team avoided theoretically strong opponents, who were also in the seeded group, right from the group stage, such as Australia, South Korea, and Qatar.
But with their outstanding performance, the Vietnam U23 team finished third in the tournament.
According to the current standings, Japan and Uzbekistan are the most likely top seeds for the 2028 AFC U23 Championship, having reached the top four and finals multiple times. The third seed will go to the host nation, whose identity has not yet been announced.
Finishing third gives the Vietnam U23 team a significant advantage in the 2028 AFC U23 Asian Championship - Photo: AFC
Who will get the 4th spot? In terms of consistency, both Vietnam U23 and South Korea U23 have achieved that. Their performance is even somewhat similar, having reached the quarterfinals twice and the semifinals once in the tournaments of 2022, 2024, and 2026. However, since Vietnam U23 defeated South Korea U23, they are highly likely to be selected as the top seed.
However, all of this is just preliminary calculation. Therefore, it can be said that this year's bronze medal is of great value to the Vietnam U23 team.
However, it's also important to consider the fact that Vietnam's U23 team achieved good results this year because other teams didn't bring their strongest squads. South Korea's U23 team, despite serious preparation for the tournament, didn't call up any of their star players currently playing in Europe.
Although host nation Saudi Arabia has ambitions, they are mostly fielding players from the U19 to U21 age groups. Therefore, they are not strong enough to pose a real challenge to Vietnam's U23 team this time.
The reason why strong teams haven't unleashed their full potential is because there are no Olympics this year. Meanwhile, 2028 will be an Olympic year, and the U23 Asian Championship will be used as a qualifying tournament for the Games.
Notably, Asia will only have 2 spots left to qualify for the US Olympics. This means that only the two teams that reach the final will secure a ticket to the 2028 Olympics.
Because of the fierce competition, ambitious football nations like Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, etc., will send their best players. This also poses a challenge for the Vietnam U23 team.
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NGUYEN KHOI - DUC KHUE
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hanh-trinh-dang-nho-cua-u23-viet-nam-20260125111900365.htm
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