U23 Vietnam: Time for overseas Vietnamese players to change their fortunes?

Coach Kim Sang Sik continues to give opportunities to overseas Vietnamese players in the Vietnam U23 team. But the question is: will the Korean coach's trust be rewarded?

The trust of Mr. Kim Sang Sik

In the list of U23 Vietnam, coach Kim Sang Sik continues to attract attention when giving opportunities to a group of Vietnamese-American players including Viktor Le, Tran Thanh Trung and new player Vadim Nguyen.

This is not the first time that players who grew up in European football have joined the squad. However, the increasing number shows the openness and great trust of the Korean coach in overseas Vietnamese players.

Thanh Trung continues to be trusted by coach Kim Sang Sik along with Vadim Nguyen and Vitor Le

Although Viktor Le has not really shone in the U23 Vietnam shirt, his stable performance in the V-League in the last two seasons has helped the midfielder currently playing for Ha Tinh continue to be trusted and given opportunities.

With Tran Thanh Trung and Vadim Nguyen, the story is different. The duo has not left a clear mark in V-League, and even has little chance to perform in club colors.

However, being included in the U23 Vietnam squad shows that Mr. Kim Sang Sik puts his faith in potential rather than current form. In particular, Vadim Nguyen appeared for the first time, bringing with him the expectation that he can create more competitiveness and creativity in the attack line, which is currently lacking.

Will it be rewarded?

However, the question still has to be asked: Will Mr. Kim Sang Sik's trust be rewarded? In fact, in recent years, overseas Vietnamese players have not left much of an impression on the U23 or national team. Many cases were highly expected but quickly faded because they could not adapt to the playing style and weather in Vietnam.

Even Tran Thanh Trung, a player with an impressive record who played in Europe, was removed from the squad right before the U23 Asian qualifiers or could not compete for an official position at the club.

Hopefully, the trust of coach Kim Sang Sik will be rewarded by the Vietnamese-American players.

However, this time, things could be different as U23 Vietnam enters an important training session under the command of coach Dinh Hong Vinh - who is temporarily replacing Mr. Kim during the preparation period.

The coach from Gia Lai is considered to have a "cool hand" in helping overseas Vietnamese players integrate, as he helped Viktor Le find confidence at CFA Team China 2025 a few months ago, bringing hope to the remaining two names.

However, success or failure depends on the adaptability, desire and perseverance of the Vietnamese players themselves. Hopefully, after the upcoming training trip to the UAE, Vadim Nguyen, Tran Thanh Trung and Vitor Le will prove that Coach Kim Sang Sik's trust in them is worthy.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/u23-viet-nam-den-luc-cau-thu-viet-kieu-doi-van-2449005.html