In Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, Vietnam U23 will meet Bangladesh U23 (September 3), Singapore U23 (September 6) and Yemen U23 (September 9). According to the rules, after the qualifying round, the 11 top teams in each group and the 4 best second-placed teams will qualify for the finals, along with the host team Saudi Arabia.

Coach Kim Sang Sik and his team's goal is to win the top spot in the group. This is not too difficult a task because Khuat Van Khang and his teammates are rated higher than their opponents in group C. However, the home team must prepare well in all aspects and focus on each match.

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U23 Bangladesh arrived in Viet Tri from August 30. Photo: VFF

In the opening match, U23 Vietnam met U23 Bangladesh. The U23 Bangladesh squad participating in this year's qualifying round was notable for the appearance of naturalized Cuban striker Mitchell - who has three bloodlines: English, Jamaican and Bangladeshi, and has played for youth teams in England such as Birmingham and Sunderland.

Preparing for the 2026 AFC U23 qualifiers, Bangladesh U23 had 2 friendly matches with Bahrain U23 and lost both with scores of 0-1 and 2-4. Coach AKM Saiful Bari Titu's team is expected to face many difficulties in Group C.

The next opponent of U23 Vietnam is U23 Singapore. This team only brought to Vietnam the U20 squad. Of the 23 players called up, only three were born in 2003, the rest are very young. This is not an obstacle for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team.

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Yemen U23 striker Hamza Mahrous.

In the final match of Group C, U23 Vietnam will have a decisive match with U23 Yemen. The West Asian team is notable for having 3 strikers who are all national team players. They are Abdulaziz Masnoum, Qassem Al-Sharafi and Hamza Mahrous - the faces who just played for the Yemen national team in the FIFA Days series in June 2025 against Bhutan and Lebanon in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

In the list of participants in the 2026 AFC U23 qualifiers, U23 Yemen only has one player playing abroad, goalkeeper Muhammad Ramadan Shuey Jumaan (currently playing in Saudi Arabia), the remaining players are all playing for domestic clubs.

Although U23 Yemen is a formidable opponent, if well prepared, U23 Vietnam can completely win and get a ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/u23-viet-nam-va-tran-dau-quyet-dinh-lay-ve-vck-chau-a-2438182.html