U.23 Vietnam has found its backbone, ready to conquer Southeast Asia

Defense with 2 young stars of HAGL

In the goalkeeper position of the U.23 Vietnam team, the young star of HAGL Club Tran Trung Kien is dominating, thanks to his physique (1.91 m tall) and thanks to his regular participation in the V-League. The matches in the national championship help this goalkeeper to improve his skills. When returning to a youth tournament like the U.23 Southeast Asia tournament, it is highly likely that the young players in the region will not be able to make goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien lose his composure.

U.23 Việt Nam đã tìm thấy trục xương sống, sẵn sàng chinh phục Đông Nam Á - Ảnh 1. — Goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien will be the number 1 choice in goal for U.23 Vietnam?

In addition, Tran Trung Kien has recently improved significantly in his ability to catch high balls and control the penalty area. At HAGL Club, Technical Director Vu Tien Thanh always sets high requirements for his players in aerial situations, so Tran Trung Kien is familiar with situations like this.

Similar to goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, central defender Pham Ly Duc (1.82 m) will also have an official place in the competition. Ly Duc has a lot of experience playing in the V-League, and he is quite compatible with Trung Kien, as both play for HAGL Club. This is an advantage for the defensive duo of HAGL Club.

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Under coach Kim Sang-sik, the Korean coach has a habit of using a formation with 3 central defenders. Therefore, 2 central defenders with very good physique of the Vietnam U.23 team, Le Van Ha and Nguyen Hieu Minh (both 1.84 m tall) will also be present. These are the players who played well at the international four-nation tournament in China in March. Le Van Ha and Nguyen Hieu Minh were effective when facing players of U.23 Korea, China and Uzbekistan. At the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament, Le Van Ha, Nguyen Hieu Minh and Pham Ly Duc will be the 3 main central defenders of U.23 Vietnam.

Dinh Bac plays the role of center forward?

In midfield, Nguyen Thai Son and Nguyen Van Truong will play the central midfielder role. Thai Son will play a little lower than captain Le Van Truong. Thai Son specializes in ball recovery and long-range defense, while Van Truong focuses on organizing attacks.

U.23 Việt Nam đã tìm thấy trục xương sống, sẵn sàng chinh phục Đông Nam Á - Ảnh 2. — Will Nguyen Van Truong lead the attack organization?

U.23 Việt Nam đã tìm thấy trục xương sống, sẵn sàng chinh phục Đông Nam Á - Ảnh 3. — Dinh Bac plays the role of center forward?

As for the forward line, after eliminating Vietnamese-American striker Alex Bui, it can be seen that coach Kim Sang-sik has placed his trust in striker Nguyen Dinh Bac. The player of the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) has a good physique (1.80 m), capable of competing one-on-one with the opponent. It is likely that coach Kim Sang-sik will pull Dinh Bac into the center position, right above the striker Nguyen Quoc Viet.

After determining the "vertical axis" of the spine, including goalkeeper, center back, central midfielder and striker, coach Kim Sang-sik will connect other positions to this vertical axis, gradually completing the U.23 Vietnam team.

At the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament, Vietnam U.23 is in Group B with Cambodia and Laos. We will play Laos U.23 on July 19. Then, on July 22, we will meet Cambodia U.23. Having passed the group stage, Coach Kim Sang-sik's team will play the semi-finals on July 25. The final will take place on July 29.

Watch the full 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Football Championship Mandiri Cup™ live on FPT Play, visit http://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-da-tim-thay-truc-xuong-song-san-sang-chinh-phuc-dong-nam-a-185250712165903403.htm