What does U22 Vietnam get from Panda Cup 2025?

U22 Việt Nam - Ảnh 1. — Center back Hieu Minh wearing the Vietnamese national team shirt in the match against Nepal in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup in October - Photo: NK

At the pre-tournament press conference, acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh said that facing three strong opponents, U22 China, U22 Uzbekistan and U22 Korea, will help the U22 Vietnam team strengthen their squad and perfect their playing style before entering the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Finals.

Quality competitors

In preparation for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship taking place early next year, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) will organize two international friendly tournaments in 2025 for its young players to compete. First was the CFA Team China Cup in March, and now the Panda Cup with the same three familiar guests: U22 Korea, U22 Uzbekistan and U22 Vietnam.

These two consecutive tournaments also helped young Vietnamese players benefit a lot. At the CFA Team China Cup 2025, acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh and his team won third place after drawing with U22 Korea 1-1, U22 Uzbekistan 0-0 and U22 China 1-1.

These three important matches helped the Vietnam U22 team select its players, thereby winning the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship and having 3 wins in the 2026 Asian U23 Championship qualifiers.

Now, U22 Vietnam continues to compete in China to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games next month, and further, the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. In the context of needing to check the personnel one last time and perfect the tactics, 3 matches with 3 strong opponents are a very good opportunity for the U22 Vietnam team to prove their strength.

The first opponent of the U22 Vietnam team is U22 China, with 30 players called up by coach Antonio Puche, including many domestic talents. Especially Wang Bo Hao - midfielder playing for Den Bosch Club (Netherlands). U22 Korea called up 2 players playing abroad, midfielder Kim Yong Hak (Portimonense, Portugal) and striker Kim Myung Jun (Jong Genk, Belgium). U22 Uzbekistan, with its very good youth training quality in recent times, will also be a quality team.

Make the most of testing opportunities

Coach Kim Sang Sik has selected the 26 best players of U22 Vietnam to participate in the Panda Cup 2025. Among them are 8 players who were in the Vietnam team for the 2 matches against Nepal in the final qualifying round of the Asian Cup 2027 in October. This is also understandable as this is the stage of assembling the main squad of the U22 Vietnam team for the 33rd SEA Games.

Moreover, the 3 opponents at Panda Cup 2025 are all strong compared to the U22 players who will play for the Vietnam national team in the return match against host Laos on November 19 in the final qualifying round of Asian Cup 2027. More importantly, not all U22 players who will play for the national team have the opportunity to play as a starter or as a substitute.

Among the pillars of the current U22 Vietnam team, there are quite a few players who have not been playing regularly at their home clubs recently, such as midfielder Van Truong, center back Van Ha (Hanoi), Ly Duc (Hanoi Police), midfielder Cong Phuong (The Cong - Viettel ). There is even a player who has not played for a long time due to injury, such as striker Bui Vi Hao (Becamex TP.HCM).

Therefore, the Panda Cup 2025 is an important opportunity for acting head coach Dinh Hong Vinh to test and arrange the squad, from there report and advise coach Kim Sang Sik on the most optimal squad for the Vietnam U22 team.

Although busy leading the Vietnamese team at the same time, the Korean coach will have continuous discussions with Mr. Dinh Hong Vinh about the starting lineup of U22 Vietnam, thereby being able to give a detailed assessment of the ability of each student before officially entering the SEA Games 33 campaign.

U22 Vietnam adapts to difficulties

Due to many players still having to compete in round 11 of V-League 2025 - 2026, the U22 Vietnam team had to be divided into three groups to travel to China. Of which, the first two groups of 20 players arrived in China on November 10 and the remaining 6 players from Hanoi Club, Hanoi Police, Hong Linh Ha Tinh arrived a day later.

Although there was only one training session last night (November 11) to prepare for the opening match with U22 China, the U22 Vietnam team actively adapted and were not too worried about the force. This was because the players had a certain understanding in their playing style through previous training sessions. The important thing was just how the coaching staff chose the lineup, which positions to test and how to perfect the tactics.

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NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/u22-viet-nam-duoc-gi-o-panda-cup-2025-20251111235525609.htm