Why was the nearly 2m tall center back not chosen for U23 Vietnam?

18-year-old, 1.96m tall center back Dinh Quang Kiet was chosen by coach Kim Sang Sik for the Vietnam national team instead of the Vietnam U23 team. Why?

Dinh Quang Kiet (30) at the training session of the Vietnam team - Photo: HO HAI HOANG

The Vietnam U23 team will play the opening match of the 2026 U23 Asian qualifiers at 7:00 p.m. tonight (September 3) against Bangladesh U23 at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ).

Notably, coach Kim Sang Sik did not call up 18-year-old central defender Dinh Quang Kiet (1.96m) for the Vietnam U23 team in this training session.

Instead, the Korean coach let the young center back of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club join the Vietnamese team to prepare for two practice matches with Cong An Ha Noi Club (September 4) and Nam Dinh (September 7).

This is a questionable decision by coach Kim Sang Sik. Because Quang Kiet was called up to the Vietnam U23 team during a training session in Ba Ria - Vung Tau at the end of June, to prepare for the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in Indonesia but could not stay.

At that time, Quang Kiet was eliminated by coach Kim Sang Sik in the first screening round because he could not compete for a position. Except for his physical strength, this young player showed limitations in experience and marking ability when he had only played a few matches in the V-League.

And now Quang Kiet has been promoted to the Vietnam national team by coach Kim Sang Sik, even though he can continue to train with the Vietnam U23 team to find opportunities.

Explaining this, an assistant of coach Kim Sang Sik said that this is Mr. Kim's preparation of future human resources for U23 Vietnam.

This assistant said: "Coach Kim Sang Sik's decisions in the past have all been correct. Quang Kiet was given a chance in U23 Vietnam and was eliminated early. However, this still brought about the effectiveness and success of U23 Vietnam in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.

This time, Mr. Kim did not call Quang Kiet to the U23 team but to the Vietnam national team to prepare human resources for the future, because Quang Kiet is also a potential player. Therefore, he must maintain his form and continue to get used to coach Kim Sang Sik's tactics."

In this training session, the Vietnamese team has 5 central defenders: Thanh Chung, Duy Manh, Duc Chien, Tran Hoang Phuc and Dinh Quang Kiet. Not to mention 2 wingers who can play central defender: Pham Xuan Manh and Dang Van Toi.

Quang Kiet is positioned to play in the middle of a 3-man central defender formation. Training with experienced seniors will certainly help this young central defender with a very good height gain more valuable experience, to become more mature in the future.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-trung-ve-cao-gan-2m-khong-duoc-chon-cho-u23-viet-nam-20250903150930811.htm