U22 Vietnam and the challenge before U22 Korea

After 2 matches at CFA Team China – Panda Cup 2025, all four teams have 3 points, but U22 Vietnam is temporarily ranked 3rd due to a lower goal difference than U22 China and U22 Korea. In the final match of Panda Cup 2025, U22 Vietnam will meet U22 Korea and U22 China will face U22 Uzbekistan.

u22vn.jpg -0 — The Vietnam U22 team has accumulated many lessons.

In the last time participating in March 2025, under the leadership of Acting Head Coach Dinh Hong Vinh, the U22 Vietnam team played impressively with an undefeated record (tied U22 Korea 1-1, drew U22 Uzbekistan 0-0 and drew host U22 China 1-1), thereby winning third place overall.

U22 Vietnam has gained valuable lessons after the first two matches. After the match with U22 China, when U22 Vietnam won, coach Dinh Hong Vinh commented: "This is an important match for us to test the maturity of the team. The U22 Vietnam team has gradually become more united, demonstrating the true spirit and goals that the team is aiming for."

In the loss to U22 Uzbekistan, coach Dinh Hong Vinh said: “U22 Vietnam played with determination and discipline. We faced a very strong opponent, well-organized and with extensive international experience. Despite conceding an early goal, the whole team remained calm, tried to adjust and regain the rhythm of the game.

The team created some good chances but lacked a bit of precision in the final situations. However, this is an international friendly tournament, our goal is to build the squad, test the players and gain experience. The players will have a review meeting to review the match and become more mature."

It can be seen that the coaching staff of U22 Vietnam has evaluated the progress of the players through each match. This is also in their goal in preparing for the 33rd SEA Games. Because from the beginning, the players came to the tournament with the mindset of learning experience, competing with strong teams. This is an opportunity for the players to accumulate more international competition experience.

In the next match, U22 Vietnam will face a bigger challenge when facing U22 Korea. This is a team that is considered to have a strong physical foundation, speed and modern playing style. Coach Dinh Hong Vinh said: “U22 Korea is a high-quality team, moving a lot and has good speed. We will analyze today's match, consider the physical condition of each player to make appropriate adjustments. The goal is to play more organized, maintain team distance and improve quality in the final stages. At the same time, we will continue to create opportunities for players who need more playing time.”

The CFA Team China Panda Cup 2025 is considered an important stepping stone for the participating teams towards the 2026 AFC U23 Championship Finals. For the Vietnam U22 team, this is a quality international competition, helping the coaching staff continue to perfect the squad, test personnel and tactics, and is an important stepping stone before the sprint stage towards the 33rd SEA Games.

Immediately after the end of the Panda Cup 2025, the Vietnam U22 team will enter a training session to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games from November 23. During this period, the team will practice in Vung Tau, then leave for Thailand on December 2 to attend the Games.

AFF finalizes schedule for ASEAN Cup 2026
The Southeast Asian football championship for national teams, ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026, has just announced a new match schedule.
The tournament will celebrate its 30th anniversary in July and August 2026, with 11 of the region's top teams competing for the Southeast Asian championship title.
This is the 16th time that the teams of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) have competed in the biennial cycle, since the first tournament held in Singapore in 1996. 2026 also marks the first time that Hyundai Motor Company becomes an official sponsor of the tournament.
According to the new schedule, the two play-off matches to determine the final group stage ticket will take place in a home-and-away format on June 2 and 9. The group stage, with 10 teams, will take place from July 24 to August 8 in a round-robin format, held in countries in the region. The knockout rounds (home-and-away) will start on August 15 and end on August 26. The official draw will be announced by the AFF next year. (HH)

Source: https://cand.com.vn/van-hoa/u22-viet-nam-va-thu-thach-truoc-u22-han-quoc-i788373/