Coach Kim Sang-sik called up Vietnamese-American midfielder Tran Thanh Trung to join the U.23 Vietnam team.

Overseas Vietnamese midfielder Tran Thanh Trung is on the list of Vietnam U23 team to prepare for the 2026 AFC U23 qualifiers.

Tran Thanh Trung steps up to U.23 Vietnam

According to Ninh Binh Club, Tran Thanh Trung has been called up to the Vietnam U.23 team by coach Kim Sang-sik.

The core squad of the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 championship with factors such as goalkeeper Trung Kien, Van Binh, defenders Hieu Minh, Anh Quan, Van Ha, Ly Duc, Nhat Minh, midfielders Xuan Truong, Xuan Bac, Cong Phuong, Phi Hoang, Van Thuan, Le Viktor, or strikers Quoc Viet, Dinh Bac, Ngoc My... are all named.

Ninh Binh team congratulates Tran Thanh Trung

Photo: Club

However, the most notable face in this training session is the Vietnamese-American midfielder Tran Thanh Trung. The player born in 2005 has returned to Vietnam to play for Ninh Binh in the V-League. He is considered an ideal addition to the U.23 Vietnam midfield, in the context that coach Kim Sang-sik needs more options besides the players who have already proven themselves such as Van Truong, Xuan Bac or Thai Son.

Tran Thanh Trung is only 20 years old, but has played 62 matches for Slavia Sofia, the team playing in the highest league of Bulgaria. Tran Thanh Trung also played for U.17 Bulgaria in 2021 - 2022, then was promoted to U.19 Bulgaria in 2022, when he was not yet 17 years old. In early 2023, at the age of 18, he played for U.21 Bulgaria.

Tran Thanh Trung is the most sought-after young player in the land of roses, and is also the young overseas Vietnamese player with the most impressive resume playing in the V-League.

With a valuation of 400,000 euros (about 13 billion VND) according to Transfermarkt , Tran Thanh Trung is a solution for the present and the future. In the farewell announcement of Thanh Trung, Slavia Sofia also clearly stated that the 20-year-old player returned to Vietnam to play for Ninh Binh and waited to play for the Vietnamese youth team.

Thanh Trung (right) and Thai Son will create an energetic midfield for U.23 Vietnam.

PHOTO: NINH BINH FC

U.23 Vietnam will be a stepping stone for Tran Thanh Trung to prove himself to coach Kim Sang-sik, thereby striving to advance to higher levels of the national team in the future.

In addition, U.23 Vietnam also welcomes the return of striker Thanh Nhan. The striker wearing the PVF-CAND shirt missed the 2025 Southeast Asian U.23 tournament due to injury. Thanh Nhan used to play for the Vietnam national team and will bring dynamism and tenacity to the U.23 attack.

Determined to qualify

In the 2026 AFC U23 qualifiers, Vietnam U23 is in Group C with opponents Yemen U23, Singapore U23 and Bangladesh U23.

U.23 Vietnam will open the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifying round with a match against U.23 Bangladesh at 7 p.m. on September 3. In the second match, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will meet U.23 Singapore at 7 p.m. on September 6. In the final match, U.23 Vietnam will meet U.23 Yemen at 7 p.m. on September 9. The group winner will directly qualify for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship finals, while the runner-up must be in the best group to qualify.

All 6 matches in Group C of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers took place at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ). This is the "sacred land" of Vietnamese football, having witnessed the success of many levels of the national team. Most recently, at Viet Tri Stadium, the Vietnamese team won all 4 matches at the AFF Cup 2024, including 2 group stage matches against Indonesia (1-0) and Myanmar (5-0), along with the second leg of the semi-final against Singapore (3-1) and the first leg of the final against Thailand (2-1).

In the 2024 U.23 Asian qualifiers, U.23 Vietnam was also in the same group, and had good results against U.23 Yemen (1-0) and U.23 Singapore (2-2) to get a ticket to continue.

The goal of U.23 Vietnam is to continue to win tickets to the final round of U.23 Asia 2026. Since 2016, U.23 Vietnam has continuously won tickets to the final round. The best achievement the team has ever achieved is the runner-up position in 2018, and 2 times reaching the quarter-finals (2022 and 2024).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-kim-sang-sik-goi-tien-ve-viet-kieu-tran-thanh-trung-len-u23-viet-nam-185250825171248711.htm