Coach Kim Sang Sik summoned two overseas Vietnamese players to the U22 Vietnam team.

On the afternoon of June 20, head coach Kim Sang Sik announced the list of 35 players for the Vietnam U22 team, preparing for the championship defense campaign at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.

The squad this time is still mostly familiar faces from the two most recent gatherings under head coach Dinh Hong Vinh. The previous gatherings took place at FIFA Days in March (participating in the CFA Team China 2025 International Football Tournament in China, facing Uzbekistan, Korea, China) and FIFA Days in June.

HLV Kim Sang Sik triệu tập hai cầu thủ Việt kiều lên U22 Việt Nam - 1 — Coach Kim Sang Sik will lead the U23 Vietnam team to compete in the U23 Southeast Asian tournament (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

A notable highlight in coach Kim Sang Sik's list is the return of eight players who won the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. They are 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. Many of these names will also be present at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship, especially Khuat Van Khang, who is also a familiar face on the national team.

Notably, striker Nguyen Dinh Bac has returned from injury, earlier than expected. The striker born in 2004 broke his fifth toe in March and is expected to be out for at least three months. Dinh Bac is considered one of the brightest discoveries of Vietnamese football recently thanks to his individual technique, diverse finishing ability and modern playing style. He has made 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 at the 2023 Asian Cup.

The call-up list also includes two promising overseas Vietnamese players, midfielder Le Viktor (Hong Linh Ha Tinh ) and striker Bui Alex (team B of Bohemians Praha 1905, playing in the Czech Republic's Third Division). Le Viktor is playing well in the V-League and has participated in recent training sessions, while Bui Alex had his first tryout with U22 Vietnam in late May and early June.

HLV Kim Sang Sik triệu tập hai cầu thủ Việt kiều lên U22 Việt Nam - 2 — Bui Alex is playing for the B team of Bohemians Praha 1905 in the Czech Republic (Photo: Bohemians).

Midfielder Nguyen Ngoc My (Dong A Thanh Hoa ) is also a notable young player. He was the star who helped U19 Dong A Thanh Hoa win the 2023 National U19 Championship (Best Player of the Tournament) and won the 2024 National U21 Top Scorer (helping U21 Dong A Thanh Hoa win the bronze medal). Ngoc My missed the appointment with U23 Vietnam in March due to a serious injury in the National Cup match.

However, the team also faced some unfortunate absences, notably striker Bui Vi Hao. This highly-rated striker has played at the U20 Asia, U23 Asia and ASIAD. At the AFF Cup 2024, Vi Hao was trusted by coach Kim Sang Sik to start and scored against Myanmar. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious injury at the end of March, had to undergo surgery and is expected to need 10 months to fully recover.

According to the plan, U22 Vietnam will gather 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 (July 15-29). In the group stage, Vietnam will meet Laos (July 19) and Cambodia (July 22). U23 Vietnam is the current champion of this tournament for two consecutive years (2022, 2023).