Mr. Kim is satisfied with the dream start of V-League, a big boost for U.23 Vietnam

Coach Kim Sang-sik can be satisfied when many of his students played outstandingly in their debut in round 1 of V-League, promising to create a big boost for the Vietnam U.23 team.

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

Photo: Minh Tu

Young U.23 Vietnam star debuts in V-League

Round 1 of V-League 2025 - 2026 is an important milestone that will see a series of young talents in the Vietnam U.23 team make their debut in Vietnam's highest tournament.

After many years of struggle, PVF-CAND finally breathed the V-League atmosphere this season. Coach Thach Bao Khanh and his team even did it in a refreshing way with a 2-1 victory over SLNA.

That was the match where coach Kim Sang-sik witnessed midfielder Xuan Bac (born in 2003), striker Thanh Nhan (2003), center back Hieu Minh (2004), right back Anh Quan (2004) and 20-year-old player Bao Long (2005) play their first minutes in the V-League.

In fact, it was a pretty good performance from the U.23 Vietnam players that helped PVF-CAND play steadily and control the ball better (51.9% compared to 48.1%) against a team that has never been relegated from the V-League.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has many quality options for the Vietnam U.23 team.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

On the other side of the field, goalkeeper Van Binh (2005) also had a day as the main goalkeeper for SLNA, along with Van Cuong (2003), Nam Hai (2004), Quang Vinh (2005)... who also played.

This year in particular will be an opportunity for Van Binh when the U.23 Vietnam player has the opportunity to play regularly in the V-League after his senior Van Vinh transferred to The Cong Viettel .

In the South, Duc Phu (2003) and Quoc Cuong (2005) played together as starters and played well to help the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club (HCMC Police) make the former champion Hanoi Club lose for the first time in many years at Thong Nhat Stadium.

Quoc Cuong is playing his second season in the V-League while Duc Phu is making his debut in Vietnam's top flight. With their impressive performances in this match, both can hope that regular playing time will help increase their chances of playing for the Vietnam U.23 team.

Two young talents Thanh Nhan (red) and Nam Hai (yellow) in the match where PVF-CAND won 2-1 against SLNA

Minh Tu

Especially at Thanh Hoa Stadium, striker Ngoc My (2004) also added his name to the scoreboard to help the home team draw 1-1 with Da Nang Club, while midfielder Van Thuan (2006) played very impressively on the right wing of Thanh Hoa Club.

Confident towards the U.23 Asian qualifiers

In general, the members of the Vietnam U.23 team that just won the Southeast Asian U.23 Championship - including Thanh Nhan who was injured and could not go to Indonesia - all played in the opening match of the V-League 2025 - 2026.

This creates a huge advantage for coach Kim Sang-sik when he owns a rare U.23 Vietnam team with 100% of members regularly playing in the highest tournament in Vietnam, something very rare for a coach to have.

Hopefully, the above-mentioned U.23 Vietnam players, including Van Khang, Cong Phuong, Dang Duong, Xuan Tien, Van Tu (The Cong Viettel), Ly Duc, Dinh Bac (Hanoi Police), Duc Anh, Phi Hoang (Da Nang Club), Trung Kien, Quang Kiet, Gia Huy, Gia Bao (HAGL)... will play a lot in the next 2 rounds.

Nhat Minh (left cover) in Hai Phong Club shirt

Photo: Minh Tu

That will be the best preparation to help the Vietnam U.23 team be more confident towards the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship qualifiers, with matches against Bangladesh U.23 (September 3), Singapore U.23 (September 6) and Yemen U.23 (September 9) at Viet Tri Stadium.

Passing the qualifying round to participate in the final round of the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship is the mandatory task of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team. Even seeing the way the Vietnam U-23 team played bravely in Indonesia, many fans expect them to go deep in the continental arena.

Fortunately, coach Kim Sang-sik is receiving great support from the clubs boldly rejuvenating, helping many U.23 Vietnam players, especially those who are only in their late teens or early twenties such as Van Binh, Bao Long, Gia Bao... to be trained early in the top tournament in Vietnam.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-kim-hai-long-voi-man-khoi-dau-nhu-mo-cua-v-league-cu-hich-lon-cho-u23-viet-nam-185250819135053943.htm