U.23 Vietnam calls for 1.95m tall center back and 1.67m striker: Why not?

Compared to the two most recent official international tournaments, including the Southeast Asian U.23 tournament in July and the 2026 Asian U.23 qualifiers in September, the Vietnam U.23 team promises to be even more unpredictable, with the possibility of adding promising faces.

The "giant" factor in the defense

In defense, there are 2 central defenders with extremely good physiques who have never appeared in the U.23 Southeast Asia tournament or the 2026 U.23 Asian qualifiers. Both of these central defenders are playing for HAGL Club. The first is the "giant" player Dinh Quang Kiet (1.95 m). This central defender has been tested in some friendly matches of U.23 Vietnam in recent months, showing that coach Kim Sang-sik highly appreciates the potential of the central defender playing for HAGL Club.

Center back Dinh Quang Kiet (3rd from right) has an extremely good physique.

Photo: HAGL FC

Quang Kiet is still quite young, only 18 years old. However, he has had his second season playing in the V-League. Dinh Quang Kiet's experience is getting better and better. Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Trieu is a tactical option at HAGL Club. This player is 1.88 m tall, also very tall among domestic central defenders.

Every time he was sent onto the field to replace Quang Kiet or foreign central defender Jairo, Nguyen Van Trieu always completed his task. For example, in the match between HAGL Club and The Cong Viettel in round 8 of V-League on the evening of October 26, Nguyen Van Trieu came on to replace the injured Dinh Quang Kiet, and Nguyen Van Trieu contributed to helping HAGL repel the attacks of The Cong Viettel, helping the mountain town team win.

If Quang Kiet and Van Trieu are both called up to the U.23 Vietnam team to compete in the 33rd SEA Games in December this year and the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship finals in January next year, the defense of the U.23 Vietnam team will have very good physiques. With Quang Kiet, Van Trieu, plus Hieu Minh (1.84 m), Le Van Ha (1.84 m), Pham Ly Duc (1.82 m), the defense of the U.23 Vietnam team will not be inferior in physique compared to any team in these tournaments. At that time, high balls will no longer be a disadvantage, but will become our advantage.

U.23 Vietnam's attack line has a new element

Up front, there is a striker who is not on the list of U.23 Vietnam to win the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship, but has played quite well recently in the V-League, that is Dinh Xuan Tien. This player can play well in 2 positions including attacking midfielder or striker.

Dinh Xuan Tien (10) is ready to return to the Vietnam U.23 team.

Photo: Ngoc Duong

Dinh Xuan Tien does not have a physical advantage, he is only 1.67 m tall. But in return, this player has very good speed and technique, sharp tactical vision, and good finishing ability. Xuan Tien also has no shortage of international competition experience, as he was a member of the Vietnam U.23 team that won the U.23 Southeast Asia Championship in 2023, under coach Hoang Anh Tuan.

If Dinh Xuan Tien appears next to attacking players like Dinh Bac, Ngoc My, Thanh Nhan..., he can actively support these players, as well as increase the diversity of the U.23 Vietnam team's attacks.

The fact that U.23 Vietnam has more and more personnel options will help increase the team's competitiveness, stimulating the players to strive constantly. At the same time, this will also help expand Coach Kim Sang-sik's tactical options, making the U.23 Vietnam team more unpredictable at the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-goi-trung-ve-cao-195-m-va-tien-dao-167-m-tai-sao-khong-185251027010149445.htm