U.23 Vietnam 'has a bright chance' in the Asian tournament: The momentum to win the SEA Games gold

The Vietnam U.23 team has many advantages in the qualifying round of the 2026 U.23 Asian Cup, thereby preparing for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) taking place in Thailand at the end of this year.

U.23 Vietnam has a bright chance to enter the final round

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers will feature 44 teams, divided into 11 groups of four teams each. The matches will be played in a round-robin format at each host venue from September 1 to September 9. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has officially announced that Vietnam will be one of the host countries for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers. Accordingly, Vietnam U23 will play the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers at home.

In addition, with the achievement of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship, U23 Vietnam was placed in the No. 1 seed group before the draw (taking place on May 29). Accordingly, the No. 1 seed group also includes Japan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Indonesia, South Korea, Qatar, China, Tajikistan and Kuwait.

Bui Vi Hao is a quality striker of U.23 Vietnam, but is likely to miss the Asian qualifiers because he has just undergone surgery.

PHOTO: AFC

It can be seen that U.23 Vietnam is holding two very favorable factors. First, playing at home with the support of a large number of Vietnamese fans is a great mental advantage for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team. For youth teams, mentality always plays a very important role, greatly affecting the performance of players on the field. Second, being in the No. 1 seed group also increases the chance of U.23 Vietnam winning a ticket to the final of the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship. Because Khuat Van Khang and his teammates will certainly avoid the most formidable opponents in Asia because they are all in the No. 1 seed group, notably Japan, Korea, Uzbekistan, Iraq...

In the qualifying round, teams compete in a single round-robin format to calculate points and rank. The top team in each group (11 teams) and the four best second-placed teams, along with host Saudi Arabia, will compete in the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship.

Prepare carefully for SEA Games 33

The 2026 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers will take place in September, while the 33rd SEA Games will kick off in December in Thailand. Both tournaments are important, but it can be said that the 2026 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers will be an important step forward for Vietnam U-23, in order to best prepare for the 33rd SEA Games.

Through the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, Mr. Kim Sang-sik will easily make detailed and specific assessments of each player in terms of expertise and, more importantly, their competitive spirit when playing in international competitions... From there, the Korean captain will make adjustments and personnel replacements... before entering the SEA Games. In theory, Coach Kim Sang-sik will have his most satisfactory squad (except for force majeure cases such as injuries) to conquer the 33rd SEA Games gold medal.

In preparation for the 2026 AFC U.23 qualifiers, the VFF will continue to facilitate the Vietnam U.23 team to gather and train at the same time as the national team's FIFA Days. The next FIFA Days in 2025 will take place in early June. Most recently, the team had a very high-quality "test" at the U.22 CFA Team China 2025 international tournament, held last March with the participation of U.23 Korea, U.23 Uzbekistan and U.23 China.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-sang-cua-o-giai-chau-a-suc-bat-de-gianh-vang-sea-games-185250501145049607.htm