Vietnam U23 needs at least one point in the final match.
Le Van Thuan's valuable goal helped Vietnam U.23 win against Singapore U.23 (1-0) in the second match, thus maintaining their top position in Group C of the 2026 Asian U.23 Championship qualifiers.
In the earlier match, U23 Yemen also defeated U23 Bangladesh by a narrow margin. After two matches, both U23 Vietnam and U23 Yemen have 6 points, but coach Kim Sang-sik's team is ranked higher due to a better goal difference (+3 compared to +2).
Vietnam U23 faces competition from Yemen U23.
PHOTO: MINH TU
In the final match at 7 PM on September 9th, Vietnam U23 will face Yemen U23. This is the "final" of Group C, determining the top team that will secure a direct ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. Meanwhile, Singapore U23 and Bangladesh U23 have both exited the tournament with 0 points after 2 matches.
Van Thuan scored a golden goal, as Vietnam U23 struggled to win against Singapore.
To qualify for the 2026 U.23 Asian Championship, Vietnam U.23 needs to win or draw against Yemen U.23. A minimum of one point in the final match would be enough for Dinh Bac and his teammates to secure first place in the group, equivalent to a spot in the finals.
However, what if Vietnam U23 loses to Yemen U23 in the decisive match?
At that point, the Yemen U23 team would have secured their qualification with 9 points after 3 matches. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team would have finished second in the group with 6 points after 3 matches.
In the U.23 Asian Cup qualifiers, a total of 11 groups (44 teams competing) are currently underway. The 11 group winners, along with host nation U.23 Saudi Arabia, will qualify for the U.23 Asian Cup finals. Meanwhile, the remaining 4 spots will be awarded to the 4 best-performing second-placed teams among the 11.
Therefore, if Vietnam U23 wants to qualify for the finals while finishing second in their group, they must be among the top four second-placed teams with the most impressive points and goal difference.
Ranking of second-placed teams after 2 rounds of matches.
SCREENSHOT
In the U.23 Asian Cup qualifiers, when comparing the ranking of second-placed teams, the organizers will deduct the result of the match against the last-placed team. This means that U.23 Vietnam will only have 3 points (if they lose to U.23 Yemen in the final match).
Because they only beat U.23 Singapore by a one-goal margin, coach Kim Sang-sik's team will be at a significant disadvantage when comparing goal difference with other second-placed teams in the group.
Currently, in the remaining groups, only Group G (where U.23 Cambodia and U.23 Oman compete for second place) and Group J (U.23 Indonesia and U.23 Laos are vying for second place) have a high probability that the second-placed team will only have 4 points, leaving only 1 point after deducting the result against the last-placed team.
Vietnam U23 1-0 Singapore U23: The home team firmly holds the top spot in Group C.
Meanwhile, in many groups, the second-placed team will have 3 to 4 points (after deducting the result against the last-placed team) along with a better goal difference than Vietnam U23.
Therefore, if they finish second in the group, the Vietnam U23 team faces a very high risk of having to stay home and watch the finals.
The goal for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team is to win or draw against U23 Yemen. With the home advantage and a gradually developing playing style, it's reasonable to believe that U23 Vietnam has the ability to determine its own fate, instead of anxiously waiting for the results from other groups.
Watch live and in full Group C - 2026 AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers onFPT Play, at: http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-can-thoa-man-dieu-kien-song-con-gi-de-du-vck-u23-chau-a-185250907034803157.htm
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