A tough challenge for Vietnam U23

The Vietnam U23 team has analyzed video footage to study the strengths and weaknesses of the Jordan U23 team – their opponent in the first group stage match of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship.

Người Lao Động•05/01/2026

The Vietnam U23 team will kick off their campaign in the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals with a match against Jordan U23 at 6:30 PM on January 6th. This will be a tough challenge for Coach Kim Sang-sik's team.

The goal is to win.

Participating in this tournament, the Vietnam U23 team boasts many young players with extensive international experience and a strong desire to repeat their runner-up achievement from the 2018 season. Despite having the lowest FIFA ranking among the four teams in Group A, the Vietnam U23 players are not inferior to their opponents in terms of physical fitness and build. To effectively execute their ball-controlling, attacking style of play, these Vietnamese talents have continuously honed their pressing skills and improved their physical fitness over the past two years.

Before their opening match, the Vietnam U23 team played a friendly against Syria U23 and achieved positive results in terms of technical performance. Facing a tough challenge at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, Coach Kim's team has been actively training their defensive capabilities, focusing on countering aerial balls and long passes. "Aerial combat" is a key weapon for teams from the West Asian region. The Vietnam U23 coaching staff highly appreciates the physique and attacking prowess of the young Jordanian players. However, the entire team affirms that Vietnam U23's goal is to win 3 points in their opening match to build momentum for their journey further in the tournament.

Despite a successful year, the Vietnam U23 team is facing a depleted squad ahead of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. Two key players, Bui Vi Hao and Nguyen Thanh Nhan, suffered recurring injuries during training in Qatar, leaving their participation uncertain. However, the Vietnam U23 attack boasts numerous strikers and alternative options. Among them is Nguyen Dinh Bac, the best young player at the SEA Games 33 and the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship. Coach Kim Sang-sik has built his tactical approach around Dinh Bac as a crucial link in its operation.

Wearing his club's jersey in the 2025-2026 AFC Champions League Two, Dinh Bac has previously frustrated strong teams in Asia with his display of individual technique and diverse finishing skills. The experience gained from the continental competition last season will help strengthen Dinh Bac's competitive spirit, making him worthy of the role of leader of the Vietnamese U23 team's attack at this year's AFC U23 Asian Championship.

Thử thách khó của U23 Việt Nam - Ảnh 1. — The Vietnam U23 team has finalized its squad and is ready to face Jordan U23. (Photo: VFF)

Experienced team

Jordan is a team with a long history of participating in the 2016 AFC U23 Championship finals, having appeared 7 times. Their best achievement was finishing third in 2013. However, in the last two seasons, the Jordan U23 team failed to advance beyond the group stage.

With a perfect record, scoring 19 goals and conceding only 1 in the qualifiers, the Jordan U23 team has shown ambition to advance deep into the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. The Jordan U23 team for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship consists entirely of players who play in the domestic league. Among them is striker Awda Al-Fakhoury – the team's main goalscorer who scored 5 goals in the qualifiers and found the net against Japan U23 – the reigning AFC U23 champions – in a friendly match on January 1st.

Coach Kim Sang-sik believes that the first match of a tournament always brings a lot of unfamiliarity and pressure, which can cause teams to be slow to get into rhythm and struggle to implement their tactical plans. Therefore, the Vietnam U23 team needs to be astute in assessing the opponent's strength after the first 15 minutes of the match to devise a game plan, knowing how to adapt their approach to the situation and developments on the field. In a continental tournament, Coach Kim's players are the underdogs, so they need to capitalize on scoring opportunities and minimize defensive errors.

In Group A, host nation Saudi Arabia is considered a strong contender for a quarter-final spot, while the remaining spot will be contested by Vietnam, Jordan, and Kyrgyzstan. Therefore, the result of the opening match will directly impact U23 Vietnam's chances of advancing.