Coach Kim Sang Sik calls up excellent Vietnamese-Bulgarian player to Vietnam U23 team

On August 25, head coach Kim Sang Sik announced the list of players to be recruited for the Vietnam U23 team to prepare for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers.

The Vietnam U23 team, with its main force having just won the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, will gather again to participate in the 2026 Asian U23 Qualifiers, taking place in Viet Tri ( Phu Tho ). Photo: VFF

Notably, among the total of 24 players summoned, there is the name Tran Thanh Trung - the player who just entered the top 3 Best Young Players of Bulgaria in the 2024-2025 season.

Tran Thanh Trung (Chung Nguyen Do), born in 2005 in Bulgaria to a Vietnamese family, currently holds dual Vietnamese and Bulgarian citizenship. He grew up at CSKA Sofia, played professionally since 2013 and played for Slavia Sofia's first team in the Bulgarian National Championship before returning to Ninh Binh Club in V.League 1-2025-2026.

Rookie Tran Thanh Trung (left) in Ninh Binh Club's jersey playing at LPBank V.League 1- 2025-2026. Photo: VFF

The 1.75m tall central midfielder has played 31 matches, scored 2 goals and had 1 assist in the 2024-2025 season. With a controlling and defensive style of play, Thanh Trung is also among the top 5 young players with the most interceptions in European National Championships (excluding the top 5 leagues). He is also a familiar face in Bulgaria's youth teams, from U17 to U21, and was highly regarded by Barcelona scouts as a promising midfielder in Europe.

In this training session, U23 Vietnam will embark on the second important task in 2025, the 2026 U23 Asian Qualifiers, after successfully defending the U23 Southeast Asian Championship. This is also an important preparation step towards the 33rd SEA Games. Therefore, the call-up list still retains the main squad from the recent regional tournament, creating stability in the squad and playing style.

According to the plan, the Vietnam U23 team will gather and practice in Viet Tri (Phu Tho) from August 30. In Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 qualifiers, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team will meet U23 Bangladesh (September 3), U23 Singapore (September 6) and U23 Yemen (September 9).

To serve fans, match tickets are sold online exclusively on the OneU app, with three denominations of VND100,000, VND200,000 and VND300,000. The sale is divided into three phases:

Phase 1: From 09:00 on August 25 to 23:59 on August 27, 2025 or until tickets are sold out, whichever comes first; spectators can buy tickets to watch the matches on September 3, September 6 and September 9 at the same time.

Phase 2: From 00:00 on August 28 to 23:59 on September 2, 2025 or until tickets are sold out, whichever comes first; audiences can buy tickets for the matches on September 6 and September 9 at the same time.

Phase 3: From 00:00 on September 3 to 23:59 on September 5, 2025 or until tickets are sold out, whichever comes first, audiences can buy tickets to watch matches on September 9.

List of U23 Vietnam players preparing for the U23 Asian qualifiers. Photo: VFF

With an increasingly improved squad and the emergence of promising players, the U23 Vietnam team promises to continue to bring fans impressive and emotional performances in the upcoming continental qualifying round.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-trieu-tap-cau-thu-viet-kieu-xuat-sac-bulgaria-vao-doi-tuyen-u23-viet-nam-713963.html