U.23 Vietnam won the championship, who will coach Kim Sang-sik call up to the national team?

Additions to the Vietnam national team's defense

Currently, in the U.23 Vietnam squad that won the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 Championship, there are already national players including goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien, center back Pham Ly Duc, midfielder Khuat Van Khang. After the tournament just ended in Indonesia, many more players are ready to wear the Vietnam national team jersey, performing their duties in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Center back Hieu Minh (4) played excellently at the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament

Photo: VFF

One of the most notable faces among them is center back Nguyen Hieu Minh. The center back position is a position that is in great need of people in the national team. In the match between Vietnam and Malaysia on June 10, in the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam team had very few players in this position.

At that time, the central defenders Viet Anh and Thanh Binh were injured and could not go to Malaysia, coach Kim Sang-sik almost ran out of people to replace Thanh Chung and Tien Dung, at the time these two central defenders were injured in the middle of the match. The people who replaced Thanh Chung and Tien Dung at that time were Xuan Manh and Ly Duc, either at a disadvantage in terms of physique (Xuan Manh was only 1.71 m tall), or lacked safety in covering (Ly Duc).

If the Vietnamese team adds Hieu Minh (1.84 m), he will contribute to improving the physical factor of the defense. At the same time, Hieu Minh has a calm playing style, so he can create more safety in covering for his teammates. In addition, Hieu Minh's ability to participate in attacks is very good. He scored 2 goals at the 2025 U.23 Southeast Asian Championship, 1 goal with his head and 1 goal with a technical kick that is not inferior to a striker. Moreover, after the U.23 Southeast Asian Championship, Hieu Minh's experience will increase, gradually meeting the requirements of wearing the national team jersey.

Potential factor for midfield

The next additions could come in midfield, with one attacking midfielder and one defensive midfielder. As an attacking midfielder, Nguyen Van Truong played very consistently at the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament. Although Van Truong did not score any goals during the tournament, his contribution to the team was still great.

Cong Phuong will be a useful addition to the midfield of the Vietnam national team.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

This player has good ball control, is physically strong, passes the ball well and has good finishing. He has made great progress in terms of character. Two years ago, Van Truong acted impulsively in the semi-final match against U.23 Malaysia in the U.23 Southeast Asia tournament in Thailand. This player almost got into a fight with the opponent, almost causing U.23 Vietnam to lose the game.

Now, Van Truong plays very calmly, facing great pressure he still does not tremble, facing the opponent's provocation he still does not lose focus. It is Van Truong's calmness that creates confidence for the surrounding players, helping the whole team play calmly as well.

In addition, Van Truong also possesses versatility, he can play as an attacking midfielder or striker, has a good physique (1.82 m), useful for the Vietnam team in high balls. At least, at the present time, Van Truong is not inferior to Vo Hoang Minh Khoa when playing in the midfield of the Vietnam team.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Cong Phuong was the surprise discovery of Vietnamese football at the U.23 Southeast Asian tournament. He scored the winning goal 1-0 for U.23 Vietnam in the final match against U.23 Indonesia.

Cong Phuong is skillful, strong, has good tactical vision, and can supplement the central midfielder position of the Vietnam team. In addition, this player has a good physique (1.78 m), which will be useful for coach Kim Sang-sik's team when they need personnel who can compete one-on-one and recover the ball in the midfield.

Mr. Kim Sang-sik revealed on July 30, after arriving at Tan Son Nhat Airport (HCMC), that if any U.23 Vietnam players develop well in the future, he will create opportunities for them to wear the national team jersey. Perhaps the Korean coach himself has made a calculation!

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/u23-viet-nam-vo-dich-hlv-kim-sang-sik-goi-ai-len-doi-tuyen-quoc-gia-185250801191719585.htm