Hats off to Coach Kim: Every time he makes a substitution, the Vietnam U23 team scores a goal, simply amazing!

Vietnam U23 won thanks to Mr. Kim's exceptional skills.

A 2-0 victory against the Philippines U23 team brought Vietnam U23 back to the SEA Games final after a three-year wait. Despite facing many difficulties against the tight, well-organized defense of the young Philippine team, coach Kim Sang-sik's team overcame the challenge thanks to a last-minute goal.

Le Van Thuan's header in the 89th minute, combined with Nguyen Thanh Nhan's beautiful curling shot in the 90+2 minute, sent Vietnam U23 into the gold medal match.

Vietnam U23 team wins against the Philippines with two last-minute goals to reach the SEA Games 33 final.

Ngả mũ thán phục thầy Kim: Cứ thay người là U.23 Việt Nam ghi bàn, quá giỏi!- Ảnh 1. — Van Thuan helps Vietnam U.23 reach the SEA Games 33 final.

Vietnam's U23 team had a difficult start at the SEA Games 33, winning a hard-fought match against Laos' U23 team (2-1). This was also the first time that Vietnamese youth football only beat Laos by a single goal. However, step by step, Kim's U23 Vietnam team overcame criticism to move forward.

The success of the Vietnam U23 team is largely thanks to coach Kim Sang-sik. The South Korean strategist hasn't yet been able to consistently build a visually appealing passing or ball-control style of play for the Vietnam U23 team. At many times, Nguyen Dinh Bac and his teammates had to resort to long balls, crosses, and waiting for set pieces. However, the whole team still managed to decide the game because Coach Kim was very good at reading the game, reacting promptly, and making very accurate substitutions.

Both players who scored against the Philippines U.23 team, Van Thuan and Thanh Nhan, were brought on in the second half.

For Van Thuan personally, this is the second time he has scored after coming on as a substitute. In the match against U.23 Singapore in the 2026 U.23 Asian Cup qualifiers, Van Thuan also headed the ball into the net to seal a 1-0 victory after coming on in the second half.

Notably, the player who delivered the cross for Van Thuan's header was also Phi Hoang, the same player who provided the cross that led to Thuan's goal in the match against the U.23 Philippines.

Thanh Nhàn also experienced the feeling of coming on as a substitute and scoring, when she found the net against U.23 Yemen in the U.23 Asian Cup qualifiers (U.23 Vietnam also won by a narrow 1-0 margin).

Ngả mũ thán phục thầy Kim: Cứ thay người là U.23 Việt Nam ghi bàn, quá giỏi!- Ảnh 2. — Coach Kim Sang-sik is very good at making substitutions.

In the 2-0 victory against Bangladesh U.23, Coach Kim brought Viktor Le onto the field at the start of the second half, and the Vietnamese-Russian player then shone with the goal that sealed the victory.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has a keen eye for talent.

Besides his well-structured and scientific tactics, Coach Kim Sang-sik has a keen eye for talent. There are unknown players who have become key players (even making it to the Vietnamese national team) thanks to the trust he placed in them.

Vietnam U23 team showed great sportsmanship towards their opponents, celebrating with fans after a thrilling victory.

That was the case with midfielder Nguyen Xuan Bac, who headed the ball into the net against the Philippines U.23 team in the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship, in only his second match as a starter.

Similarly, midfielder Nguyen Cong Phuong, a young player making his first start in the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship final at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, still left his mark with a shot that found the net against host nation U.23 Indonesia, leading U.23 Vietnam to the championship.

Coach Kim Sang-sik's effective use of players has given the "raw gems" of the Vietnam U23 team plenty of opportunities to prove themselves. His team has won their last 10 official matches, with nine different players scoring goals. In each game, the Vietnam U23 team has unearthed a hero. In the final, the South Korean strategist is ready to surprise his opponents with some pleasant surprises.

Vietnam U23 won thanks to Mr. Kim's exceptional skills.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has a keen eye for talent.

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