SEA Games 33: Expectations for U22 Nghe An talent

(NLDO) - Nguyen Dinh Bac was assigned by coach Kim Sang-sik as vice captain of the U22 Vietnam team in men's football at the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand.

The U22 Vietnam team will face U22 Laos at 4 p.m. today (December 3) in the first round of Group B men's football at the 33rd SEA Games. In this tournament, coach Kim Sang-sik's team aims to win gold medals.

U22 Vietnam possesses a core force with extensive experience and expertise in competition. Coach Kim and his team have prepared carefully with two training trips in China. Before that, U22 Vietnam continuously gathered to practice during the FIFA Days in 2024 and 2025.

Before coming to SEA Games 33, U22 Vietnam's performance was quite impressive, with the championship of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and all wins in the qualifying round to win a place to participate in the 2026 Asian U23 final round.

In the list of 23 U22 Vietnam players under coach Kim Sang-sik, there are many talents who have played for the national team recently. Notable among them is striker Nguyen Dinh Bac. The 21-year-old player from Nghe An is considered a key factor in the tactical strategy of U22 Vietnam participating in this SEA Games.

Dinh Bac has a good technical foundation, moves flexibly, is confident in holding the ball and has a variety of shots. The striker of the Hanoi Police can play in a variety of positions: winger, attacking midfielder and attacking midfielder.

Dinh Bac had an impressive warm-up before the journey to conquer the SEA Games 33 gold medal. Before joining the national U22 team, the striker from Nghe An scored a goal that greatly contributed to helping Hanoi Police beat Beijing Guo'an Club (China) and soon secured a place in the knockout round of AFC Champions League Two 2025-2026.

Sharing before the match against U22 Laos, Nguyen Dinh Bac said that the whole team is in very good spirits and ready for the goal of winning all 3 points on the opening day. He said: “Each tournament is a different story. The teams in the region have all improved so the opening match of SEA Games 33 will certainly not be easy. We have to concentrate to get the desired result. It is difficult to predict anything, but we will try our best to have a favorable start.”

Taking on the role of vice-captain of the U22 Vietnam team for the first time, Dinh Bac expressed his pride: “It is both a responsibility and a joy. I will try my best to contribute to the team’s victories.”

The Vietnamese football talent also confided that this is the first SEA Games in his career and he will try his best to contribute to the national team so as not to disappoint the fans.

"Because I was busy playing for my home club, I joined the team late and didn't have much time to integrate well with U22 Vietnam. However, everything went smoothly and I was ready to play" - Dinh Bac added.

The match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Laos will take place at 4:00 p.m. on December 3 (VTV2, VTV5, VTV Can Tho,FPT Play) and the match will be continuously reported and updated live on Nguoi Lao Dong Online Newspaper .

Source: https://nld.com.vn/u22-viet-nam-ra-quan-sea-games-33-ky-vong-tai-nang-xu-nghe-196251203125119971.htm