A series of young stars injured, U.23 China faces difficulties in the opening match against U.23 Vietnam

Not only U.23 Vietnam has to race against time, because the host team U.23 China also has difficulty with physical strength and injuries to many important pillars.

U.23 Vietnam only had 1 training session before the opening match of Panda Cup 2025

Photo: Minh Tu

U.23 China holds its breath before the match against U.23 Vietnam

On the morning of November 11, Chinese media quoted famous journalist Wang Xiaorui confirming that 18-year-old star Wang Yudong - one of the most notable young talents of Chinese football - will not be able to participate in the friendly tournament CFA Team China Panda Cup 2025 (Panda Cup 2025), with the opening match against U.23 Vietnam.

Specifically, reporter Wang Xiaorui of Sports Weekly wrote: "Wang Yudong has returned to Hangzhou because he is too tired and will not participate in the 2025 Panda Cup. More serious troubles are waiting, completely unexpected."

Tencent Sports added that Wang Yudong returned to Hangzhou from Chengdu (the host of the 2025 Panda Cup) due to overload and injury. Previously, coach Wang Zheng proactively let Wang Yudong leave the Zhejiang team to Chengdu early to have time to prepare for the Chinese U.23.

Wang Zheng said: "In the first group stage match, Wang Yudong's leg was a little sore, but he still played despite the injury in the match against Shandong, and his performance was amazing.

U.23 Vietnam match schedule at CFA Team China Panda Cup 2025

Photo: VFF

Wang Yudong not only has outstanding ability, but his will and perseverance also help him show his talent. Due to injury, we asked him to leave the team early for further examination."

Waiting for U.23 Vietnam and U.23 China to overcome difficulties together

The pressure is even greater for the head coach of the Chinese U.23 team, Antonio, when in addition to Wang Yudong - the pillar that helped the Chinese U.23 team enter the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship, the home team also faces the risk of missing a series of other players due to injury when they will play the opening match with U.23 Vietnam in just 1 day.

In the semi-finals of the men's football (using U.20 teams) of the Chinese National Games held on November 10 between Shandong and Hubei, Shandong's key midfielder Peng Xiao was immediately taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Initial tests predicted that he only had a sprained ankle and was not serious, but the latest news is not very optimistic. Tencent Sports even doubted whether this player could participate in the Panda Cup 2025 or further, the AFC U-23 Championship 2026.

In the other semi-final, two key players of the Shanghai team, Liu Chengyu and Li Xinxiang, were also forced to leave the field due to injuries and are being taken to the hospital for further examination. Both may have to withdraw from the 2025 Panda Cup at the last minute.

Group of U.23 Vietnam players flew from Ho Chi Minh City to China

Photo: VFF

The reason is said to come from the dense competition schedule of the Chinese National Games with matches every other day (6 matches in just 12 days) significantly increasing the risk of injury for players.

To the point, Shandong coach Han Peng said: "We cannot let Yimulan and Chen Zeshi play the whole match; if they get injured again, it will affect the training of the national youth team."

U.23 Vietnam itself also faced difficulties in terms of personnel when overseas Vietnamese star Tran Thanh Trung was absent due to injury. The team itself had to split into 3 groups to fly to China because of the competition schedule in Vietnam.

Today, group 3 including 6 players from Hanoi FC, CAHN and Hong Linh Ha Tinh competing in V-League on the night of November 10th took a late flight to Chengdu.

According to the schedule, the Vietnam U.23 team will only have one training session on the afternoon of November 11 to complete preparations, before meeting the host team China U.23 at 6:35 p.m. Vietnam time on November 12 at the Shuangliu Stadium with a capacity of 26,000 seats.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/loat-sao-tre-chan-thuong-u23-trung-quoc-gap-kho-tran-ra-quan-dau-u23-viet-nam-185251111122045218.htm