Vietnam team finalizes 'blue team', Mr. Kim and U.23 Vietnam focus on Asia

At the FIFA Days in September, the Vietnamese team will play friendly matches with two strong domestic clubs, while coach Kim Sang-sik will focus on helping the U.23 Vietnam team win a ticket to the 2026 AFC U.23 Championship.

The Vietnam national team will not compete internationally next September.

Photo: Minh Tu

Vietnam team gives up the field to U.23 Vietnam

V-League has had an exciting start with round 1 having many surprising results. The good news is that the U.23 Vietnam players all played at different levels, including those who left a strong impression such as Ngoc My ( Thanh Hoa Club), Xuan Bac, Thanh Nhan, Anh Quan, Hieu Minh (PVF-CAND)...

It is expected that V-League clubs will play two more matches before taking a break, making way for FIFA Days, where the Vietnam national team and Vietnam U.23 team will train together at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center.

It is expected that during the training session from August 29 to September 10, the Vietnamese team will have two friendly matches with strong domestic teams, expected to be Nam Dinh Club and Hanoi Police Club (CAHN) on September 4 and 7.

Ngoc My (yellow) scored the first goal for Thanh Hoa Club in V-League 2025 - 2026

Photo: Minh Tu

This can be considered a reasonable calculation, when Nam Dinh Club owns nearly a dozen extremely valuable Western players, while CAHN Club's foreign star players are considered the top in Vietnam, and the thick domestic force helps them still be a quality "blue army".

Great faith for U.23 Vietnam

These will be quality matches for the Vietnamese team in the situation of not competing in official tournaments, preparing for the next steps in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

At the same time, this planning method will help coach Kim Sang-sik have maximum time to focus on leading the Vietnam U.23 team to compete in the 2026 U.23 Asian qualifiers, with 3 matches at Viet Tri Stadium in September.

Coach Kim Sang-sik has led the U.23 Vietnam team with the most experience in many years.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

Specifically, Van Khang, Dinh Bac and his teammates will meet Bangladesh (3.9), Singapore (6.9) and Yemen (9.9) with the sole goal of finishing first in the group to win a ticket to the continent's highest youth football festival.

In fact, looking at the strength, winning a ticket to the 2026 AFC U23 Championship is an achievable task for the Vietnam U23 team because all three football teams of the opponents are ranked far below us on the FIFA rankings.

In addition, almost all of the young players are playing well in round 1 of V-League 2025 - 2026, the Vietnam U.23 team has a big advantage in terms of experience in top-level competition, especially after their heroic performance in the championship of the Southeast Asian U.23 tournament in Indonesia.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-chot-quan-xanh-ong-kim-va-u23-viet-nam-don-suc-chau-a-185250820134126204.htm