Improving the quality of Vietnam U.23 team.

The Vietnam U23 team has successfully completed two-thirds of its important tasks in 2025, winning the Southeast Asian U23 Championship and securing a place in the Asian qualifiers by finishing first in their group. The ambitious goal for the Vietnam U23 team is to win the gold medal at the 33rd SEA Games, a crucial stepping stone towards a breakthrough at the U23 Asian Championship in January 2026.

THE FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS

Two years ago, the Vietnam U23 team was under the guidance of renowned coach Troussier, who placed high hopes on them. However, the French coach's half-hearted ball-possession style of play proved a major failure. Taking over the hot seat of both the Vietnam national team and the U23 team faced immense pressure and difficulties, but with his strong character and simple yet decisive strategies, coach Kim Sang-sik has gradually led Vietnamese football through its crisis and begun to reap success.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and the Vietnam U23 team are heading in the right direction.

PHOTO: DONG NGUYEN KHANG

The 2024 AFF Cup championship was a valuable lesson in Coach Kim's player selection and personnel management, where the coaching staff found a playing style that suited the players' physical attributes and maximized their confidence and composure. Technically, the quick, simple, and effective counter-attacking style of play best showcased the abilities of the Vietnamese players. A solid defense and the fierce attacking prowess of Xuan Son were key highlights in the Southeast Asian championship. Furthermore, the younger generations gradually became familiar with Coach Kim's methods, strategies, and playing philosophy, resulting in the U23 Vietnam team now having a relatively clear and effective playing style and tactical approach, achieving impressive results.

FINAL STEPS TO COMPLETION

Despite making solid progress, to win the SEA Games 33 gold medal and achieve good results at the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team still have a lot of work to do. Firstly, in terms of personnel, the Vietnam U-23 team still needs to strengthen both in quantity and quality. The Vietnam U-23 team recently had a training camp and friendly matches in Qatar that were considered very high-quality, but a closer analysis reveals that the young players at Coach Kim's disposal are still quite thin, with a significant disparity between the regular players and the reserve players. In the unfortunate event of key players suffering injuries or other setbacks, the coaching staff will find it very difficult to find suitable replacements.

However, Mr. Kim and his colleagues can still expand their search "data" to find outstanding players from the V-League and the First Division. Players who regularly start in the V-League will be a source of quality personnel. The progress of the duo Duc Phu and Quoc Cuong from Ho Chi Minh City Police FC is a good suggestion for the Vietnam U23 coaching staff. If both are called up, they will be a quality addition to the U23 midfield. Thanh Nhan, with his spectacular goals in the V-League, will clearly compensate for the shortcomings of Dinh Bac or Quoc Viet.

Furthermore, focusing on perfecting the playing style will be the top priority for coach Kim Sang-sik. Over the past period, the Vietnam U23 team has built a strong defense with good qualities such as effective aerial ball control, one-on-one challenges, and more coordinated and accurate defensive support. Keeping a clean sheet in the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers and conceding only two goals in the Southeast Asian U23 Championship campaign are clear evidence of the solidity of goalkeeper Trung Kien and his teammates. The current challenge for the Vietnam U23 team is to improve ball control and refine attacking situations using open play. The Vietnam U23 team must aim for a faster ball circulation style, with quick, short-pass combinations that are more unpredictable and faster in attack. Only then can the U23 team improve its quality and break down the structure of teams with tight defenses.

Along with that, Coach Kim will have to continue training his players in set-piece situations, accurate crosses from the flanks, and the styles that have become trademarks of the U23 team in recent times. Time is running out for preparation, but one thing is clear: the Vietnam U23 team is heading in the right direction. With continued hard work to improve and elevate the team's abilities, the goal of reclaiming the SEA Games gold medal will be within reach for Coach Kim Sang-sik and his players.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nang-chat-u23-viet-nam-18525102720213577.htm