Ngoc My: The striker's goal for U.23 Vietnam forced coach Popov to change

Nguyen Ngoc My will never forget the red night of September 3 at Viet Tri Stadium, with the opening goal in the first time coach Kim Sang-sik was about to start for the U.23 Vietnam team.

Ngoc My (19) scored the first goal for the Vietnam U.23 team.

Photo: Minh Tu

Ngoc My scored the opening goal for U.23 Vietnam

The Vietnam U.23 team opened the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers in true coach Kim Sang-sik style: captain Khuat Van Khang and "Youth King" Quoc Viet were on the bench, leaving Ngoc My and Thanh Nhan to start their first match under the Korean coach.

In the 15th minute, in a central attack situation, striker Dinh Bac retreated to attract the defenders after escaping the siege and suddenly launched a sharp pass for Ngoc My to catch up with the speed and break the offside trap.

Careful fans counted that the young striker was a bit nervous and needed 4 beats to control the ball and finish, but it was a powerful shot into the far corner that U.23 Bangladesh goalkeeper Mehdi Srabon, despite having an excellent day of competition, couldn't react in time.

Bangladesh press points out the reason why the home team lost to U.23 Vietnam

A milestone goal for the young but stubborn and fiery striker with a stubborn spirit of not giving up, to the point of completely changing the decision of the fiery-tempered coach Velisar Popov.

Ngoc My (yellow) scored the first goal for Thanh Hoa Club in V-League 2025 - 2026

Photo: Minh Tu

Returning to the preparation phase for the 2024 - 2025 season, Ngoc My is still on the list of more than a dozen young names that Thanh Hoa Club calculates can be loaned to other clubs, with the purpose of honing and helping them become stronger before returning to contribute to the first team.

Among them, Nguyen Ngoc My was assessed as having potential but still very inexperienced. At that time, the young man from Ba Lang commune (former Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province) kept quiet and did not say anything, but showed it through actions.

During the preparation process, Ngoc My "expressed" all her wishes on the field, with her running steps, gritting her teeth to swallow all of Coach Popov's famously terrible training plan, stubbornly hunting for the ball and shooting without fear...

Then, the fire in the young hunter's eyes caught the attention of coach Popov. After the tests, the Bulgarian coach made a decision that completely changed Ngoc My's career, changed his plans and kept him in the first team.

Keep the fire burning, Ngoc My!

Ngoc My (19) is integrating well into the Vietnam U.23 team.

Photo: Minh Tu

After 6 rounds for the young student to get used to the atmosphere of V-League 2024 - 2026 from the bench, Mr. Popov suddenly put this young striker in the main squad for the away match in round 7, at Vinh Stadium of SLNA.

Immediately, Mr. Popov's trust was rewarded when Ngoc My scored the first goal for her hometown team in the 36th minute, bringing a minimal 1-0 victory and 3 valuable points for Thanh Hoa Club.

In round 8, Ngoc My continued to be used by Mr. Popov from the start and once again opened fire with a goal to raise the score to 2-1 in the 34th minute. Although he was later withdrawn after the first half because Thanh Hoa Club only had 10 players left, his tenacity, acceleration ability and sharpness in the penalty area were recognized.

At the end of V-League 2024 - 2025, Ngoc My was sent to the field by coach Popov to play 17 matches, including 7 starts, showing the special importance of the talented Bulgarian coach who is very good at exploiting the potential of young players like Ngoc My or Van Thuan, who are playing for U.23 Vietnam.

Ngoc My will have a bright future ahead if she continues to keep the flame of passion and effort.

Photo: Thanh Hoa Club

Although the number of goals stopped at 2, partly because the V-League defenders paid more attention and narrowed Ngoc My's playing space. But that season created a solid foundation for him, to be more confident in aiming for further goals.

Ngoc My's playing schedule was affected by an ankle injury, forcing him to sit out for more than a month and miss the first call from coach Kim Sang-sik when the Vietnam U.23 team gathered to participate in the CFA Team China 2025 tournament in China.

'Unknown' Ngoc My, Le Viktor cause big surprise, U.23 Vietnam defeats Bangladesh on opening day

In the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament, Ngoc My was sent on as a substitute by coach Kim Sang-sik but still could not score. Then on the night of September 3, the Thanh Hoa club striker repeated his habit of scoring in his first starting match for the U.23 Vietnam team.

Hopefully, this goal will be just the beginning of Ngoc My's awaited career, just like the way he scored the opening goal of V-League 2025 - 2026 for Thanh Hoa Club. Hopefully, he will always keep the fire in his eyes, to continue burning on the field with his determination not to give up.

Watch live and complete Group C - 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoc-my-ban-thang-cho-u23-viet-nam-cua-chan-sut-khien-hlv-popov-phai-thay-doi-185250904164556147.htm