U.23 Vietnam striker creates unbelievable milestone: Escaping the shadow of 'youth tournament king'

Striker Nguyen Quoc Viet has just set an impressive milestone with the U.23 Vietnam team, when he scored a hat-trick to win the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship. However, the 23-year-old striker will face bigger challenges ahead.

Three consecutive times winning the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship with U.23 Vietnam

The final match of the U.23 Southeast Asia 2025 on the evening of July 29 ended with a 1-0 victory of U.23 Vietnam against U.23 Indonesia, marking the third time the Golden Star football team has won the regional tournament. In the list of players participating in this tournament, Nguyen Quoc Viet is a special name, the only one who has been present in all three championships of U.23 Vietnam in 2022, 2023 and 2025.

Not scoring, nor regularly appearing in the starting lineup in this tournament, but Quoc Viet's persistent presence throughout the tournaments shows that the striker born in 2002 has the necessary qualities of a goalscorer and stability. That is the reason why the striker who grew up from Nutifood JMG Academy has been trusted by coach Dinh The Nam, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and coach Kim Sang-sik.

Nguyen Quoc Viet (left cover) has 3 consecutive U.23 Southeast Asian championships, in the years: 2022, 2023 and 2025

PHOTO: NGUYEN KHANG

It's time for a change of image

Born in 2003, Quoc Viet is an excellent product of Nutifood JMG Academy, having just completed the 2024-2025 season in the Ninh Binh Club shirt. Before him was the fear of the opposing defense, at national youth tournaments: winning the title of Top Scorer at all 3 levels U.17, U.19 and U.21. The nickname "king of youth tournaments" is a recognition of the effective scoring ability of the striker born in 2003.

Quoc Viet has just set an unbelievable milestone when participating in all 3 championships of U.23 Vietnam in the regional tournament. With a player who has experience in the previous 2 tournaments, Quoc Viet is expected more by fans. However, at the recently concluded U.23 Southeast Asia 2025 tournament, Nguyen Quoc Viet has not left many professional marks, when compared to teammates of the same age such as Nguyen Dinh Bac, Nguyen Van Truong or Khuat Van Khang. Part of the reason is due to injury.

Quoc Viet needs to break through in the coming time

PHOTO: NGUYEN KHANG

At the age of 22, Quoc Viet is no longer a young player. Before the "turning point" of his career, the former HAGL striker needs to overcome and make a real change. Or in other words, the striker born in 2003 needs to escape the label of "king of youth tournaments".

After the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian Championship, U.23 Vietnam will enter the 2026 U.23 Asian qualifying campaign, then the 33rd SEA Games at the end of this year in Thailand. These are considered two important arenas for Vietnamese football. Therefore, Nguyen Quoc Viet needs to know how to take advantage of opportunities in the coming time. This is the time for the 22-year-old striker to show himself, creating the premise to step up to a higher level. If he wants to convince coach Kim Sang-sik to give him a chance in the Vietnamese national team, Quoc Viet needs to take advantage of every minute on the field, from V-League to the international arena.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tien-dao-u23-viet-nam-tao-cot-moc-kho-tin-thoat-khoi-cai-bong-vua-giai-tre-185250731102351569.htm