U23 Vietnam: Is there still room for overseas Vietnamese players?

The wave of overseas Vietnamese players playing in the V-League brings many personnel options for coach Kim Sang Sik with U23 Vietnam, but that is just the surface and the reality is not simple.

Many new options

The appearance of a series of overseas Vietnamese players in the 2025/26 V-League season promises to bring a new breeze to Vietnamese football. Notably, among the names returning to their "fatherland" to play football, there are quite a few very young people.

Do Nguyen Thanh Chung (Chung Nguyen Do), Brando Ly, Vadim Nguyen for example, all 3 of these players are quite young and are considered potential options for U23 Vietnam and even the Vietnam national team in the future.

Chung Nguyen Do is the overseas Vietnamese player who is receiving the most expectations.

These players, most of whom are trained in professional football environments abroad, bring with them valuable qualities such as modern tactical thinking, good physical strength and good discipline.

That's why coach Kim Sang Sik certainly won't ignore these talents in upcoming tournaments, such as the U23 Asian qualifiers or the SEA Games taking place at the end of this year.

But is it easy?

However, from potential to success is a long way. The lesson from Viktor Le at the recent U23 Southeast Asian tournament is the clearest proof: high expectations but lackluster performance, not leaving a significant mark.

Or even like Van Lam and Nguyen Filip when they first returned to Vietnam, it showed that despite having good individual skills, adapting to the collective playing style and integration is still a big challenge for overseas Vietnamese players.

But from the latest case of Viktor Le, although the doors to the national teams are wide open, the group of overseas Vietnamese players must make great efforts to be selected by Mr. Kim Sang Sik.

Not only is it a matter of integration, even external factors such as the weather are causing overseas Vietnamese players to face a series of challenges. Chung Nguyen Do, for example, despite possessing many technical qualities and good tactical vision, has not yet been able to adapt to wearing the Ninh Binh shirt.

Another example is that recently overseas Vietnamese players who were called up by coach Kim Sang Sik to play for the U23 and U22 teams, such as Bui Alex and Andrej An Khanh, could not stay because of the huge differences in football philosophy, language, culture, etc. of Vietnamese football.

The above examples show that getting into the U23 Vietnam team is not only based on the "label" of overseas Vietnamese players or coming from a foreign training environment. To get a place in the competition, everyone must prove that they are more outstanding than their domestic colleagues from playing time to professional ability.

The door is always open, but to get through, Viktor Le, Chung Nguyen Do, Brando Ly or Vadim Nguyen need patience, the ability to integrate and prove their worth and the expectations of their fans, in addition to their expertise.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/u23-viet-nam-lieu-con-cho-cho-cac-cau-thu-viet-kieu-2430997.html