Vietnam U23 set a series of impressive records after defeating Saudi Arabia U23.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - After defeating U23 Saudi Arabia and securing first place in Group A of the U23 Asian Championship, U23 Vietnam has set a series of impressive records.

In the final match of Group A at the AFC U23 Asian Championship held last night (January 12th), Vietnam U23 impressively defeated host Saudi Arabia U23 with a score of 1-0. The only goal of the match was scored by Dinh Bac in the 64th minute.

For the first time in history, Vietnam U23 defeated Saudi Arabia U23 (Photo: AFC).

With this result, Coach Kim Sang Sik's team secured first place in Group A with a perfect 9 points after three consecutive wins. In the quarter-finals, we will face either the UAE U23 or Syria U23 teams.

Notably, this is the first time in history that the Vietnam U23 team has defeated the Saudi Arabia U23 team. In their two previous encounters, Vietnam lost to this opponent in the quarter-finals of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship (0-2) and the group stage of the 2023 Asian Games (1-3). Even at the senior national team level, Vietnam has lost all four previous matches against Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this victory holds historic significance for Vietnamese football.

Furthermore, the Vietnam U23 team also set a record by winning all three group stage matches in the AFC U23 Asian Championship for the first time. In the 2016 tournament, the Vietnam U23 team was in a very difficult group with Jordan, Australia, and UAE. Under the guidance of coach Toshiya Miura, they lost all three matches against Jordan U23 (1-3), Australia U23 (0-2), and UAE U23 (2-3). They finished the group stage without any points.

Two years later, the Vietnam U23 team, under coach Park Hang Seo, created a fairytale story by reaching the final. However, in the group stage, Vietnam U23 had a difficult start, losing 1-2 to South Korea U23. They then won 1-0 against Australia U23 and drew 0-0 with Syria U23. With 4 points, Vietnam U23 unexpectedly secured their place in the next round.

At the 2020 AFC U23 Asian Championship in Thailand, the Vietnam U23 team finished with two 0-0 draws against the UAE U23 and Jordan U23 teams, and a 1-2 defeat against North Korea U23. This resulted in Coach Park Hang Seo's team returning home at the bottom of their group.

By 2022, the Vietnam U23 team witnessed a resurgence, showing significant improvement under coach Gong Oh Kyun. They drew 2-2 with Thailand U23, drew 1-1 with South Korea U23, and won 2-0 against Malaysia U23.

Vietnam U23 team wins all three matches in the group stage of the AFC U23 Asian Championship for the first time (Photo: AFC).

At the 2024 tournament under coach Hoang Anh Tuan, the Vietnam U23 team opened with a 3-1 victory against Kuwait U23 and then beat Malaysia U23 2-0. However, in their final group stage match, the "Golden Star Warriors" lost 0-3 to Uzbekistan U23.

The Vietnam U23 team also set another historical milestone by topping their group for the first time in the AFC U23 Asian Championship. In their three previous appearances in the tournament (2018, 2022, and 2024), the young Vietnamese players had only finished second in their groups.

The victory against U23 Saudi Arabia has created immense excitement for the U23 Vietnam team. The team is hoping to replicate their achievement of reaching the final under coach Park Hang Seo in 2018.

Watch the entire 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship Finals on TV360 at https://tv360.vn. Enjoy a smooth multi-platform experience, rewind and replay, and free Viettel 4G/5G data.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/u23-viet-nam-lap-hang-loat-ky-luc-an-tuong-sau-chien-thang-u23-saudi-arabia-20260113022036924.htm