What to do to go far?

VHO - U23 Vietnam has just won the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in Indonesia. This is the third consecutive time the team has won the regional tournament. However, to continue to go further, conquer continental playgrounds and get closer to the World Cup dream, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team still have a lot of work to do.

Today's championship will be the motivation for U23 to reach the top in the future. Photo: VFF

  Hopes for the future

At this tournament, U23 Vietnam introduced a generation of talented players, many of whom had been given opportunities in the national team. 7 players Trung Kien, Ly Duc, Van Khang, Thai Son, Van Truong, Quoc Viet and Dinh Bac all played for the national team. 5 of them started in the final match against U23 Indonesia.

In goal, Trung Kien is a great support. With a height of 1m91, good reflexes and a stable mentality, he started all 4 matches and only conceded 2 goals. Center back Ly Duc plays solidly, intelligently and courageously, worthy of being a pillar of the defense.

In the midfield and attack, names like Van Truong, Van Khang and Dinh Bac all showed stable performance. Dinh Bac (the best player of the tournament) showed remarkable maturity. With his dribbling ability, speed and tactical thinking, he is a great hope for the Vietnamese team's attack in the near future.

Besides the familiar players, U23 Vietnam also has many new outstanding factors such as Viktor Le, Hieu Minh, Phi Hoang, Xuan Bac and Nguyen Cong Phuong. Viktor Le played impressively at Hong Linh Ha Tinh and was trusted by coach Kim. Hieu Minh and Phi Hoang showed potential thanks to their good physique and modern defensive thinking. Xuan Bac scored the decisive goal to help the team overcome U23 Philippines in the semi-finals.

Notably, Nguyen Cong Phuong, the youngest player on the team, scored the only goal in the final, bringing the championship to U23 Vietnam. This player from The Cong Viettel not only has great potential but also plays the role of captain of U20 Vietnam, a positive sign for the succession process.

Despite their impressive championship win, the U23 Vietnam team still revealed some problems. Notably, coach Kim Sang-sik continued to maintain a pragmatic approach: Prioritizing experience and immediate effectiveness over bold rejuvenation.

In fact, the squad for the tournament includes many players aged 21 to 22 - the age that is almost past the U23 age. That means that after the 33rd SEA Games at the end of this year, most of the current squad will no longer be eligible to participate in the next U23 tournaments. Meanwhile, the number of players under 20 years old who are capable of replacing them is very small (there are only two prominent names, Cong Phuong and Le Van Thuan). This is a worrying gap in the succession system.

The team's playing style also needs to be improved. Although they won all 4 matches and only conceded 2 goals, their ability to take advantage of opportunities is still a weakness. Many of the U23 Vietnam team's finishing moves lacked coolness and precision, causing the team to miss some good opportunities.

The defense is generally stable, but sometimes not really solid against high balls. Some individual mistakes and unnecessary cards still appear, showing that the competitive mentality of some young players needs more training.

Solutions to move forward

To maintain their form and aim for long-term goals such as the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals and the World Cup dream, Vietnam U23 needs a comprehensive strategy. First of all, young players need to play more regularly in the V.League and the First Division. The VFF should create conditions and have specific policies forcing clubs to use U23 players in the main squad. Reality has proven that only through regular top-level competition can young players mature both professionally and mentally.

Second, it is necessary to organize more international training trips and quality friendly tournaments. Competing with strong teams in and outside the continent will help U23 Vietnam increase their ability to adapt to tactics, improve ball handling speed and learn modern playing styles.

Third, coach Kim Sang-sik and the VFF need to quickly build a mechanism to connect the U23 team and the national team. Football philosophy needs to be unified from youth teams to the national team, helping players easily transfer levels and integrate tactics faster. This also helps coaches proactively plan long-term personnel, avoiding being passive when the main team changes.

Finally, the youth training system must be invested in a systematic and synchronous manner, from facilities, curriculum, coaches to international connections. It is necessary to promote cooperation with prestigious academies in the region, learning from the model of Korea and Japan in discovering and nurturing young players in a modern direction.

The 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship is a worthy achievement for the efforts of the whole team, and at the same time an opportunity for Vietnamese football to look back and shape the development strategy for the next generation.

The road ahead is long and not easy, but with the right direction, discipline, openness and proper investment, U23 Vietnam can completely go beyond the regional limits and conquer new heights in the future.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/lam-gi-de-tien-xa-158668.html