U.23 Vietnam and the desire to create miracles in Saudi Arabia

Southeast Asia has 2 U.23 teams: Vietnam and Thailand

The 2026 AFC U23 Championship Finals will take place in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to 25, 2026, bringing together 16 teams: Saudi Arabia (host), Japan, South Korea, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Iran, Australia, Qatar, Jordan, Thailand, UAE, China, Syria, India, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam. Notably, all 5 teams that have won the championship before are present, including Iraq, Japan (twice), Uzbekistan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

This shows that the competition in this year's tournament will be extremely fierce when most of the heavyweight candidates appear. Among them, Kyrgyzstan is participating in the U.23 Asian Cup for the first time. Kyrgyzstan is also the team that created the biggest surprise in the qualifying round, when they surpassed former champion Uzbekistan and excellently won the top spot in Group E and a direct ticket to Saudi Arabia. Southeast Asian football only has 2 representatives: Vietnam and Thailand. Indonesia, despite having invested extensively in recent times, has finally stopped.

U.23 Vietnam is owning a generation of quality players.

PHOTO: MINH TU

The draw for the AFC U23 Championship is expected to take place on October 2, 2025. In the finals, 16 teams will be divided into 4 groups (4 teams each), playing a round robin to calculate points and rank. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, then continue to the knockout round to select the champion.

U.23 Vietnam has participated in the U.23 Asian Cup for the 6th consecutive time, after 7 times this tournament has been held. This confirms that the Golden Star team is no longer considered a phenomenon, but one of the names that has a place in the tournament. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team completed the qualifying round with impressive achievements: winning all 3 matches, earning 9 absolute points and not conceding any goals. It can be said that U.23 Vietnam currently owns a generation of players with a balanced and rich combat experience. Many faces have been pillars of V-League teams, regularly playing in tense matches in the domestic tournament. Regular competition helps them accumulate courage, tenacity and the ability to cope with pressure.

U.23 Vietnam wins all matches to enter Asian finals, Coach Kim explains 'strange' substitution method

With what has been shown in the qualifying round and careful preparation, fans can completely believe that U.23 Vietnam will continue to show its talent in Saudi Arabia in early 2026. This time, U.23 Vietnam is no longer under the leadership of coach Park Hang-seo - who brought the team to a historic runner-up position in 2018 in China, but is still trusted when leading the coaching cabin is still another Korean captain: Mr. Kim Sang-sik. Mentioning U.23 Asia is mentioning the final match in the white snow of Changzhou, where U.23 Vietnam wrote a magical story and became an inspiration for fans and the next generation of players. After 7 years, Vietnamese youth football has changed a lot, but the fighting spirit, strong will and aspiration to reach the continental level remain intact.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-va-khao-khat-tao-ky-tich-oa-rap-xe-ut-185250910211554619.htm