U.23 Vietnam needs to go in the right direction

With success in two consecutive tournaments, winning the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship and qualifying for the 2026 Asian U.23 Championship, Vietnam U.23 is on the right track, creating an important foundation for the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 Asian U.23 Championship finals.

U.23 Vietnam IS GOOD...

After 7 official matches under the guidance of coach Kim Sang-sik, U.23 Vietnam won all, scored 12 goals and only conceded 2, keeping a clean sheet in the last 4 matches. Not only achieving professional efficiency, U.23 Vietnam also showed diversity in playing style when there were 10 different players scoring, in which Dinh Bac and Hieu Minh each scored 2 goals. The remaining 8 goals were scored by 8 different names including Van Khang, Ly Duc, Xuan Bac, Cong Phuong, Ngoc My, Le Viktor, Van Thuan, Thanh Nhan.

U.23 Vietnam (right) will progress quickly if they have more exposure to top-level competition.

PHOTO: MINH TU

Football expert Doan Minh Xuong highly appreciated the current generation of players: "The good news is that 100% of the players in the U.23 Vietnam squad are playing in the V-League. Even many faces such as Trung Kien, Van Khang, Dinh Bac, Hieu Minh, Nhat Minh or Le Viktor have been regular starters at the club. This creates an ideal environment for them to develop their techniques, tactical thinking and competitive spirit. The current playing style of U.23 Vietnam is highly collective, proactively controlling the match, not needing great victories but always ensuring certainty. U.23 Vietnam plays in a way that "crushes" the opponent with disciplined play, not giving the opponent a chance to fight back. If this generation continues to have more exposure in a top environment, many players can contribute to the Vietnam team, which is in a context where some key players are showing signs of declining performance. According to the strategy of renewing the Vietnam team for longer-term goals after the 2027 Asian Cup, VFF will The more important it is to upgrade the U.23 Vietnam team to select worthy players who can step into the national team's door."

NEED TO BE CHALLENGED AT A HIGHER LEVEL

Although they are creating peace of mind, U.23 Vietnam still needs to be given the opportunity to compete at a higher level to develop comprehensively. Expert Doan Minh Xuong commented: "Compared to the generation led by coach Park Hang-seo, who made a miracle of becoming the runner-up of the U.23 Asia in Changzhou in 2018, the current U.23 generation still lacks international experience and has not met a truly strong opponent outside the region. Coach Kim Sang-sik's students, although having uniformity and collective strength, still lack exceptional individuals and international battle experience. They need to compete with top teams in Asia to improve their skills. Another problem that U.23 Vietnam is facing is that they have not found a leader on each line."

Mr. Xuong also pointed out the problem in the attack: "Many players scoring goals is a positive sign, proving that coach Kim Sang-sik does not depend on any star. However, from that, it also shows that the team still lacks a sharp striker, forcing Mr. Kim to ask left striker Dinh Bac to play inside to take on the task of a center forward. This somewhat reluctant "transfer" partly reflects the difficult problem of Vietnamese football when clubs still prioritize using foreign players in the vertical axis."

Football expert Doan Minh Xuong suggested that the U.23 Vietnam team will quickly transform if they are challenged early in the Vietnam national team: "Coach Kim Sang-sik himself will have to push for more blood changes in the Vietnam national team. He should add the U.23 Vietnam team to the Vietnam national team so that young players have the opportunity to compete at the top level sooner, recognize their own limitations and learn many valuable lessons to quickly progress. The U.23 Vietnam team will be honed in three major tournaments: the 33rd SEA Games in 2025, the U.23 Asian Cup and ASIAD in 2026. Therefore, the U.23 Vietnam players will quickly become stronger if they are able to compete at the national team level early. That will be a stepping stone for the U.23 Vietnam team to integrate into the Vietnam national team towards the goal of entering the third qualifying round of the 2030 World Cup according to the Project for developing Vietnamese football until 2030, with a vision to 2045. of VFF".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-can-di-lo-trinh-dung-huong-185250920182930913.htm